Poll of the Day > One of the weirdest things to me is hospitals posting their er wait times on...

(+) Yeah! (+)

..their signs.

Wonder which one they are accounting for? The "gee it's only 10 minutes to see a doctor? Great time to go break my arm!" Or "I know I should go get this broken arm fixed, but the wait is 2 hours. I don't have time for that"

Wow, its almost like emergencies have a sliding scale from this definitely needs to be seen, but maybe I can go somewhere else to Im gonna fuckin die if I dont get treated.

Another astounding, astute observation from hypnox.

Cacciato posted...

Wow, its almost like emergencies have a sliding scale from this definitely needs to be seen, but maybe I can go somewhere else to Im gonna fuckin die if I dont get treated.

Pretty much. It also gives you the option to let other people (such as whatever work you're missing) know roughly how long you'll be, or plan for meals if the need arises. Not every ER visit is something that has to happen as soon as possible, just something that has to happen sooner than or with more equipment available than a regular doctor appointment could.

How is this a topic?

If all hospitals did this it'd be easier to know where to go for the lowest wait time.

My sister works in an ER and she would tell you that many/most people who go to the ER shouldn't really be there. Many people go to the ER for more or less any problem they have. Likewise the system is its own worse enemy: there are about 50 trigger phrases you can use when describing your issue to a nurse that will cause him/her to send you to the ER instead relying on a clinic visit. It's good to be cautious, yes, but many times the forwarding is something that's clearly being done for legalistic (not realistic) reasons.

Anyhoo, if posting wait times cuts down on any of that it would be a good thing.

I just had to take my brother to urgent care, the waiting signs were incredibly helpful because I was able to call around and ask.

One place was 5 hours and the other was none. Pretty useful when you've got an open gash on your head.

Never had any issue with this. It's good to know the approximate wait times than not know at all. Also other folks problems could be more serious than yours so there is that.

they're accounting for 'all of the above' because something known as 'triage' exists

wpot posted...

My sister works in an ER and she would tell you that many/most people who go to the ER shouldn't really be there. Many people go to the ER for more or less any problem they have. Likewise the system is its own worse enemy: there are about 50 trigger phrases you can use when describing your issue to a nurse that will cause him/her to send you to the ER instead relying on a clinic visit. It's good to be cautious, yes, but many times the forwarding is something that's clearly being done for legalistic (not realistic) reasons.

A ton of the people waiting in the ER here are only there because it's their only option to get prescriptions renewed, since they don't have a family doctor and walk-in clinics fill up too fast for them to get in. It's very much not ideal, but the government refuses to clue in to the fact that paying family doctors less than they get paid literally anywhere else in the country means we don't have enough doctors, so...

^ Yes, that's yet another reason. Posting wait times might discourage the "I have a cold" people per my previous post, but there are certainly many other systematic failures that result in the over-utilization of ERs.

I wonder if hypnox has been reading these responses

The ER in my town averages about 10 hours for a wait, it's abysmal. A city 2 hours away averages about 30 minutes. Either of these can be better or worse. I use the times to justify where to go.

I've used that before, waiting at home with a kidney stone for 3 hours doesn't hurt any worse than waiting in the er for 3 hours