October 9, 2012California HealthlineOctober 9, 2012
In California, the risk of going to the emergency department for
certain conditions increases slightly as temperature and humidity
rise, according to a study published in the journal Epidemiology,
Reuters reports.
One in five patients who went to the emergency room were not sick
enough to require an inpatient bed, but said they sought the
emergency department because their primary care doctor told them
to go there, according to a federal survey.
Attempts at health care reform have aimed to increase access. The
U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations in the world that
does not provide universal health care to its citizens, and the
emergency department (ER) is widely believed to be the place
where no one can be denied care there. So — in essence –
everyone can get free health care if they need it. That, of
course, is not true.
While some ERs in California thrive, others are feeling financial
pressure.
Patients in California may find a shuttered glass door the next
time they seek out emergency care, as hospitals across the state
close emergency rooms.
A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association found that about one-third of U.S. emergency
departments closed during a 20-year period ending in 2009.
According to UC-San Francisco researchers who conducted the
study, the ED closures predominately affected safety-net
hospitals that see a large proportion of low-income patients.
In a California Healthline Special Report by Kelly Wilkinson,
experts discussed some of the factors that likely contributed to
the recent decline in EDs.
Hospital emergency rooms, particularly those serving the urban
poor, are closing at an alarming rate even as emergency visits
are rising, according to a report published on Tuesday.
Emergency physicians have sounded another warning cry about
overcrowding following results from a March survey showing that
80% of their departments have seen increases in visits in the
last year.
My mother had been in pain for sometime in her abdomen and in
her back. Eventually, the pain became so bad that I took her to
St Mary’s emergency room…
