They could try this.
Posted on 12/12/2010 2:35:52 PM PST by neverdem
Interesting piece on managing wait-times in Canada:
On Monday, Auditor General Jim McCarter released his annual report which found that despite putting an extra $200 million into shortening emergency room wait times over the last two years, "significant province-wide progress has not yet been made."
"Complaints about overcrowding and delays in hospital emergency rooms have persisted for years," McCarter told a news conference on Monday.
Emergency room waits for people with serious conditions sometimes reached 12 hours or more, the report said. That is far greater than the province's 8-hour wait time target, the report found.
And for emergency patients who need a hospital bed, they waited on average for about 10 hours but some waited 26 hours or more, according to the 2010 Annual Report.
"Our audit found that wait times for patients with less serious ailments have been reduced somewhat," McCarter said. "However, there has been only minimal progress in reducing wait times for patients with more serious conditions."
Health Minister Deb Matthews defended the province's ER wait times strategy, saying Ontario is the first province to set targets and measure waits.
"When we started, about 81 per cent of people who went to emergency departments were seen within the target," she said. "Now we are at 85 per cent . . . a lot of hard work goes into getting those wait times down."
McCarter's report shows the real problem with ER waits doesn't necessarily start in the emergency department.
A big part of the problem is the lack of in-patient beds, which forces admitted patients to be housed in the emergency departments, the report said.
The lack of in-patient beds is influenced by two things, McCarter found...
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Still alive after 12 hours tells me that the severity scale is a bit tilted.
Socialized medicine - 8 hour ER time wait is the GOAL....
If that doesn’t tell you anything, I don’t know what will.
Well they have to do something about emergency room wait times in our area.
You go to the ER around here and your wait is ZERO.
They are all over you the instant you walk in the door.
That really needs a government takeover.
I remember taking someone to a suburban ER for a rather nasty cut that needed a few stitches.
Not only were we some of the only folks that spoke English, but the place got locked down because of a knife fight in the parking lot.
This was, oh, five or so years ago now, too.
Honest to goodness! I worked as an RN in the huge Emergency Room at Johns Hopkins (back in the day, don’t know what it is now) but at that time although we averaged about 65 pts coming in per hr, the wait time was seldom longer than 30 minutes—real emergencies were taken care of right away. What they need is a triage system, where one person is assigned to evaluate each person coming in and make the decision of what to do with them. Some were sent directly to the OR, some were seen right away by the Cardiology Dept, and so on.
They could try this.
Have to agree with your observation.
How to get to the head of the emergency line:
Our local hospital emergency room is always crowded with Hispanics of unknown origin and citizenship, especially on weekends. When my wife insisted on taking me there a couple weeks ago I was very hesitant.
Upon arrival I told the receptionist that I was having chest pains, difficulty breathing and my lower jaw hurt. I added that I am over 70. She asked if I had insurance. Yes, I replied, Medicare and Tricare.
I went to the head of the line and in minutes had wires and tubes all over.
Unfortunately it was 86% blockage. Two stents later I was released.
My son had his collarbone broken yesterday. He was 350 miles from home. He was taken to the hospital, triaged, xray’d, seen by a doctor in less than 30 minutes.
On his way out, he was given a CD with his x-rays on it to give to the Ortho back home.
L O L !
“Still alive after 12 hours tells me that the severity scale is a bit tilted.”
yeah broken arms, heart pains, or head trauma from a ski accident. no big deal
I had to hit the ER a couple of weeks ago and ended up being admitted, and the wait was minimal. I had a senior nurse on me immediately and a Doctor shortly afterward. The only wait was for a room and that wasn’t long.
We’re fortunate to have decent hospitals here and blessed to have insurance to cover it.
You should have to show a valid insurance card and ID just to be LET IN. The law that forces all hospitals to admit non-paying customers really burns me up. What’s next? Free gas and groceries to folks who show up and claim to be “unable” to pay?
Bottom line: Health care is NOT A RIGHT!
Can’t pay the doc? maybe you should have planned better and saved your money or bought health insurance. If you didn’t, then, you’d better hope the doc FREELY CHOOSES to help you at no charge because you have ZERO claim on his services as a “right.” Otherwise, your next line of defense is charity — which should be REAL charity based on donations freely made and not FORCED taxation.
When all else fails, there is nothing to keep you from treating yourself for your own ailments. Making ME pay should NOT be on the table.
I say leave the ultimate health care decisions where they belong: WITH GOD! You are always free to PRAY TO DOCTOR GOD for healing. God’s healing can come through direct miracles or by God’s direction to charities and health care providers to help you.
If you TRUST IN GOD, then you can be sure that He WILL MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION and bring you what you need/deserve when you need/deserve it — even if it isn’t what you THINK you want.
Freedom always involves risk. And yes, some people will get more than others. But that is a SMALL price to pay for LIBERTY! We need to get the government 100% OUT of health care!
In the end, free people are called to live with the consequences of their OWN ACTIONS and the judgement of ALMIGHTY GOD. Government has NO RIGHT to interfere with that process!
Yes, I WOULD rather die than receive KenyanCare. Absolutely. God has more wisdom than all the death panels put together!
REPEAL AND DO NOT REPLACE KenyaCare!
They don’t seem to understand that you can’t provide more health care if you don’t have more doctors. Computers and regulations just doesn’t do it.
<Socialized medicine - 8 hour ER time wait is the GOAL....
<If that doesn’t tell you anything, I don’t know what will.
No kidding. I came in to post about that, but you beat me to it. WTF? I’ve had to visit the ER a couple of times recently and if I’d had to wait 8 hrs I’d have killed someone or security would have killed me.
I can’t imagine being in the ER in extreme, undiagnosed pain; having a broken limb; a vomiting child; etc. and being told to wait 8 hours. The medical professionals should be ashamed.
If you didn’t, then, you’d better hope the doc FREELY CHOOSES to help you at no charge because you have ZERO claim on his services as a “right.”
Well sure, as long as the doctor didn’t use any tax money to ge his education.
By contrast, hospitals in Nashville have billboards up advertising their ER wait time real time. Each is trying to have the lowest wait time to lure customers.
I got a large piece of glass in my foot around 6PM at night. I waited until 4AM to go into Cedar’s Sinai Emergency.
I was out within two or three hours. And admitted within 1 hour.
they could start by SENDING HOME anybody without a REAL EMERGENCY instead of treating their dumbazz... after getting sent home a few times, maybe they will get the hint
Great post.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.