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Hi all, Just wanted to give you a little update on the ED Crisis seminar, that I attended last week , in Columbia. It was very informative. I learned so many things about emergency care. Some things you probably, were not aware of. For instance, no patient can be turned away from receiving care at an emergency room, whether or not you have insurance or the ability to pay...if the hospital has the capability,and the capacity, to accept the patient. According to EMTALA, A patient who goes to an emergency room, must receive an appropriate screening, according to their symptoms...or the hospital can be found liable. A doctor who refuses to see a patient, can be fined $50,000 dollars.
I also learned many other interesting facts from the presentation of Dr, Arthur Kellerman MD, MPH, FACHE, Professor and Dean for Health Policy Emory University:... We spend more money on healthcare than anyone else, yet the quality of care is 19th out of 19 other countries... Life expectancy of children 1-10, is lower than in the past... There are 60 million uninsured Americans...The death rate is 25% higher, if you don't have health nsurance...With our current healthcare system, Americans are just one healthcare problem, away, from financial disaster...Hospitals, are facing financial crisis, because of "uncompensated" care...Critical care patients are the largest cause of "back-ups" in ER's...There are 116 million ED hospital visits per year...One half of all hospital admissions are thru the ED. These are just a few of the things I learned.
The most exciting thing I saw at the seminar, is the new "tele-psychiatrist". It is wonderful. If a patient , experiencing mental stress,comes into the ED, this new piece of equipment, can connect them with a live, psychiatric evaluation, via a television screen...24/7. They are currently in 14 of our SC hospital ED's. Hopefully, they will be in 26, by next year. For too long, mental patients, have been neglected by our medical society and really just society in general. This will be a wonderful asset for these patients.
My favorite quote from the seminar: "Economical efficiency...does not equal...Clinical efficiency"...
God bless you all,
Jan
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