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Six Secrets That Will Improve Your Experience at an Emergency Room

Visiting the emergency room in hospitals can be stressful experience. Your illness or injury that makes your emergency room visit necessary to begin with might be traumatic, not to mention the long wait times in an uncomfortable waiting room, being surrounded by other sick people, and the stress of high medical bills looming in your future. Here are a few tips that might reduce your anxiety if you have to visit to an emergency room in hospitals:

  1. If you aren’t sure if your injury or illness is an actual emergency, but aren’t able to visit your primary care physician because it is after-hours, there may be an advice line associated with the medical clinic that your doctor works with or provided by your insurance company. You might be able to use this service to get input from a medical professional on whether or not you need to be seen immediately, or any in-home measures you can take to treat yourself.
  2. Another way to avoid the stress of going to an emergency room in hospitals altogether is by visiting an urgent care clinic instead. Most urgent care facility locations provide services that extend beyond what your physician’s office offers, such as lab services, administering IV fluids, wound care, and can even x-ray and treatment for broken bones. They are also often open for longer hours than most doctors office.
  3. The American College of Emergency Physicians suggests keeping a medical file on hand in case it ever becomes necessary to visit the emergency room. This file should include:
    • Insurance information
    • Medication history, especially if you have a chronic condition that makes you prone to need emergency care
    • Results from recent medical procedures that you have undergone
    • Any pertinent allergies– especially to medication– you may have

    Having this information on-hand could make the wait times during your emergency room visit shorter, and you may be subject to fewer administrative costs.

  4. If you have to visit the emergency room for the same issue more than once, some medical experts recommend that you visit the same emergency room location. This ensures that the doctors who attend to your issue have complete access to tests and treatments administered during your previous visits.
  5. If the nature of your injury or illness affords you the opportunity to really consider which hospital you go to for emergency care, you should consider how the emergency room is staffed. Some hospitals staff their emergency room with doctors who are specifically certified for emergency care, some hospitals pull physicians from other areas to cover the emergency room. You can ask in advance how the hospital staffs their emergency room if you prefer to be treated by a doctor who specializes in emergency care.
  6. Always ask questions. Your emergency care doctor has a broad knowledge of medical care, but only you have complete knowledge of your own health. The more questions you ask and the more you communicate with the professionals treating you, the the better your physician will understand your condition and be able to provide a good treatment plan.

Do you have any other tips to add to our list of ways to take the anxiety out of visiting the emergency room? Please share them with us in the comment section below.

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