Without a doubt St. Peter Hospital, Providence need some change. Most healthcare systems do. That said, this article is misdirected ire. I'll make some points below:
1. Ambulances and EMTs are for life threatening emergencies. A doctor should know that. A dislocated elbow does not preclude one to walk. So just starting there, this is a classic misuse of the medical system that causes bottlenecks where there shouldn't be. How many people and ambulance vehicles does it take to get a young man with an elbow injury to the hospital?
2. The ER was a Zoo. Yup, that's what happens when people use the ER for common colds, minor sprains, med refills and other non life threatening emergencies. You get a zoo. The author should know this. So maybe Jolt and the author could use their position to do a weekly public service announcement informing the public of proper ER use. Do not expect the ER to drop the heart attack, stroke, respiratory patients to care for a non life threatening emergency.
3. The author mentions a freestanding ER in Texas was better, so let me unpack that for you:
a. You know what Texas has that Washington doesn't? Tort reform. The author mentions her son didn't get analgesics while waiting in the ER. In Texas they may have done this, mainly, because if the patient has a reaction to the medication while waiting outside a room, they can't sue the doctor and ER for everything they're worth. Imagine if this patient were administered an analgesic in the ER and he had a reaction to it, the author would be dragging the doctors, nurses and hospital for administering a medication without proper observation. And then would sue for as much as possible.
b. The ER in Texas is also PRIVATE. You know what that means? You have medicaid? Look elsewhere. Medicare? Let me check your supplemental. Uninsured? Ha! St. Peter is a safety net hospital that takes anyone, taking on the burden of low or no paying patients for the entire region. You can't compare a private ER that can pick and choose (and likely does) the best paying customers to a hospital that accepts everyone and then also eats the cost of caring for under or no pay patients.
c. The ER in Texas is standalone. This means that they don't have to worry about whether or not there are hundreds of patients admitted without anywhere to discharge them and therefore backlogging the ER severely. Also, Texas has a very high number of hospitals per capita, we don't. You're comparing apples to oranges.
4. Yes, again, St. Peter needs changes. But as I mentioned they are a safety net for the region and are the only ones! If the author and the readers want to change this here are some suggestions: 1. Demand that the other large medical groups that are in the area take their fair share of medicaid and uninsured patients, rather than just the high paying and well insured. 2. During then next elections, elect representatives that will enact medicare payment reform. When medicare cuts payments, especially to primary care, doctors won't take them and you end up with people not having primary care doctors and using the ER for this. You can't ask anyone to spend $1000 dollars taking care of a patient and pay them $700. Not a hospital, not a clinic, not a doctor or a nurse. Enact and demand reform from everyone instead of ranting against those who are trying their best to help.
Please explain the inappropriate content below.
