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2009-04-02 Home Front: Culture Wars

9 patients, 2,678 ER visits in 6 years in Texas

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Posted by tu3031 2009-04-02 10:48|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 I've worked in my share of ERs. None of this is news.

Potential solutions:

1) rebuild inpatient mental health facilities. That has its own problems.

2) better drug rehab. That has its own problems and doesn't work well anyway.

3) shunt patients who aren't sick to primary care centers. Been tried, doesn't work well.

4) shelter the homeless. Bush administration did that; it worked; he got no credit.

Posted by Steve White 2009-04-02 13:05|| 2009-04-02 13:05|| Front Page Top

#2 Solution.... END the federal mandate regarding hospital walk-in care and make these bastids get an appointment with a doc and PAY for services rendered like the rest of us.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-04-02 17:32|| 2009-04-02 17:32|| Front Page Top

#3 How about this for those without insurance who aren't bleeding, choking, or in the process of a heart attack or some other obvious emergency: admit them to a free clinic next door to the emergency room where they can wait in line and be seen by a health care provider. It would be much cheaper than an emergency room and the long waits would would deter all but those who really feel they need to be seen.

Posted by Gluting Fillmore6653 2009-04-02 18:08|| 2009-04-02 18:08|| Front Page Top

#4 How about this: Don't treat them in the ER unless it is a real life or limb threatening emergency.

Posted by CrazyFool 2009-04-02 18:36|| 2009-04-02 18:36|| Front Page Top

#5 Adopt the Chinese model: cash up front, and stand in line at the registration desk, before treatment. Doesn't matter if you're bleeding, delirious, unconscious, or whatever.

Posted by gromky 2009-04-02 21:55|| 2009-04-02 21:55|| Front Page Top

23:52 Procopius2k
23:52 Barbara Skolaut
23:47 Barbara Skolaut
23:44 Redneck Jim
23:31 crosspatch
23:29 SteveS
23:28 crosspatch
23:21 Gluting Fillmore6653
23:19 Redneck Jim
23:08 DarthVader
23:06 DarthVader
23:03 SteveS
23:02 Speremble Dark Lord of the Danes4730
23:01 Redneck Jim
22:54 Broadhead6
22:51 Broadhead6
22:48 Galactic Coordinator redneck Jim
22:10 Pappy
21:55 gromky
21:54 gromky
21:44 JosephMendiola
21:37 Seafarious
21:27 JosephMendiola
21:24 JosephMendiola