Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: Insurance giant's new ER policy called 'dangerous' by critics. [View all]moriah
(8,311 posts)Every time I've ever gone to an urgent care because my PCP couldn't see me fast enough, I've been sent to the ER. And at least in the last eight years, each ER visit (whether referred by urgent care or not) has resulted in admission.
Also, since while patients do suffer from insurers rejecting claims, hospitals suffer more. This is more likely to encourage ERs to have an onsite urgent care clinic, do triage, and send "non-emergencies" to that side of the house. Which isn't a bad idea for ERs large enough to do it, but will really hurt small ERs.
Finally, I want to make sure they consider prescribing antibiotics for a bad tooth in their definition of "emergency". A guy I knew had gotten back home from working on the road and was waiting for the check, and his tooth had been bad a minute. He went to the ER and they refused to see him at all for a tooth problem, even to just script him some Pen VK and ship him out. He lived alone, and his dad was the one to find him dead alone -- it was an upper tooth, and the abscess penetrated deep. There was some evidence he attempted to try to get dressed in his delirium to perhaps walk over to a neighbor's house for help, but this was before that area had much cell coverage, and he didn't have a land line to call 911.