Information/education is great (and getting better). Most people's simple lithmus test to visiting the ER tends to be "do I have a problem that is bad enough to wait 4-6 hours, or will my doctors offfice be open before that.... and will they see me today).
I don't want people to think of this purely from an "I have insurance and a choice" point of view. As clinics continue to limit/decline Medicaid, or require full payment for non-insured (can be $90-200 for an office visit), people see limited alternatives to the ER. Public/County hospitals cannot turn people away so those who cannot afford care usually see it as their only alternative- if they can't find care in other places. In the clinic where I work I see people who don't feel they can afford to see a physician about things like chest and arm pain, and I think education for heart attacks has been some of the best conveyed materials over the past 15-20 years. Dee On 21 Jan 2003 at 15:28, Jean-Louis Couturier wrote: > At 09:43 2003-01-20 -0600, Reggie wrote: > >But to get back to Nick's original point, a lot more could be done by > > insurance companies to educate patients about when they need to go > >to the emergency room, and when a visit to a clinic or to a "primary > >care physician" would be more appropriate. But how do educate people > >without insurance about going to a clinic vs. going to an emergency > >room? The only methods I can think of are PSAs (Public Service > >Announcements) on TV and radio, and maybe brochures in emergency > >rooms saying something like "If you have these symptoms, you're in > >the right place. If you have these other symptoms, you might want to > >consider a clinic or a visit to your regular doctor." Maybe there > >can be several brochures based on general symptom, sort of like the > >fliers found in some drugstores with general info about various > >diseases. > > > >Any other ideas? > > > >Reggie Bautista > > You could have a HealthCare Hotline staffed with nurses and/or doctors > so that the common stuff can be taken care of without actually getting > out to a hospital or clinic. > > We have one here and it works relatively well, for those peole who > take the time to use it. We have one as well, NHS Direct. They've been quite helpful as well. Andy Dawn Falcon _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
