Emergency Room “Appointments”?
Lay and I were driving home from North Carolina yesterday (that was grueling), and as we came into town on I275 I noticed a billboard advertising Advent Heath’s InQuickER.com website which lets you schedule Emergency Room visits.
“Yes, I think I might cut off the tip of my finger this Thursday at 10 AM. Could I get an ER appointment to get it treated at about 10:15 AM that day?” Is it any wonder that the emergency rooms are flooded with people who shouldn’t be there? These healthcare companies are training people to use the ER for non-emergencies.
So help me, here’s what their website says:
Need ER care but not immediately? Save your spot in the ER with our online reservation tool InQuicker.
Schedule* and Walk-In.
Reserve a treatment time
Complete a brief, secure form
Receive a confirmation with directions and details*For patients with non-life or limb-threatening emergencies.
Help me out here. “Need ER care but not IMMEDIATELY?” If your issue doesn’t require “immediate” care, then isn’t it, by definition, NOT an emergency? “For patients with non-life or limb-threatening emergencies.” Again, by definition, if your condition isn’t life or limb-threatening…wouldn’t that mean it’s NOT an emergency?
What is wrong with these people? Why are they encouraging the use of an ER for non-emergencies…why not just have an urgent care or immediate care area or clinic, and keep the EMERGENCY Room clear for, Oh I don’t know, maybe emergencies?
