~
I received a questionnaire from the hospital whose Emergency Room I was taken to after "the incident".
I didn't mind completing it as it was essentially multiple choice (5 options between least and best sort of thing) unless you chose to add your own comments.
I arrived at the ER in an ambulance and did not have my Health Insurance card with me; nor could I remember the name of the company we were insured with and, for a panicky moment, I thought that I'd left my license at home too!
Despite this I was treated reasonably quickly (compared to stories I had heard) and the people I came across were nice and sympathetic so they were scoring fairly highly with me until the question on how well my pain was controlled or managed. Here I felt it necessary to use all the additional comment section. I can understand them maybe not wanting to pump drugs into me until they knew whether surgery was going to be needed but surely they could've given me an ice-pack sooner than 3 hours!!
That's right - a big bone break and no ice-pack or pain meds for 3 hours!! Geez- I was almost released by then.
But then I got a good laugh from the last question…..:
With 5 being the most likely and 1 being least likely, how likely are you to recommend this Emergency Room to others?
Aussie Emjay's Blog 
Did they let you in without your health card? Wow, are you sure you live in the US?:)Joking, but on TV it looks like without an insurance you cannot go anywhere (well, until president Obama health policy started, I believe…).
Giancario, contrary to popular belief, We see EVERYONE in the emergency room regardless of their ability to pay. In fact, it is AGAINST the LAW in the us (and has been since like 1984) for the physician or the nurse to even really ask about insurance.(those little registration people do that.) It is called Emergency medical Treatment and Active Labor act. If I want to know if a pt has insurance or not, I have to actually look it up, or ask them. If we didn't have this law, the idiots with 3 days of a sore throat would never get to see a doctor in the ED. and the real emergencies would get seen a lot quicker. On the flip side with out Emtala, some very unfortunate patient dumping practices would probably continue to occur.
I feel for you waiting for something to ease the pain I try not to think of the negative experiences I have had with Hospitals and the ER. Though last year after I sent back my questionnaire a rep from the hospital kept calling me to go into detail in regard to my negative comments. I stated 3 pages I wrote should be detail enough. I swear I was honest and just gave the facts.
I've gone without health insurance and have never had to wait very long at all in any hospital setting except for walk-in clinics on weekends when I had a minor illness. So the rumors are all so silly.
Having said that, I'm horrified they didn't even toss you an ice pack, or any pain relief. Unless you had some severe heart issues there's zero reason I can think of to not give you medication.
Not to give you unsolicited advice but if the service was otherwise good, I'd say to them look, I loved the care I got at the hospital but wtf….they owe you an apology and they should know this so people don't suffer there in the future. It may have been just one person's incompetence. I'm so sorry this happned to you!
XD That's so funny! I can imagine- talking to a guy who's about ready to bleed to death. "You should go to this emergency room." Huzzah.
"Yes, I will be sending all my crack-head neighbors to your emergency room the next time they start shooting each other."
I'm not surprised you had to wait so long for treatment. I can't even imagine having to sit there with a broken bone for 3 hours without any relief. Unfortunately, stories like that are not uncommon.
Sounds more pleasant then several visits I had to the Emergency department here, But most times you have to be healthy to go to the ER if your in too much pain passing out is the next best way to go it just sucks waking back up in the pain again!
Recommend to a friend? Like you have a choice! Son was telling me yesterday that everything is considered elective surgery here if surgery is not required within 24 hours! Hence why people are waiting years for knee replacements – hence why we continue private health insurance. Good to know that emergency help is available though.
Didn't they even follow R.I.C.E with you – rest, ice, compression, elevation – while you waited. Dear me, that is torture.
Oh good heavens. I am way way WAY behind. How did I miss out on your broken arm? Just reading about it is making me feel weak. I am SO sorry you are going through all this, Emjay….but, well, it sounds as if you are through the roughest patch. (?) Hopefully!!!Those bones better get a-knittin'!
C'mon, you can't leave us hangin'! How'd you rate it?
LOL! That kind of reminds of that form one has (had?) to fill out when travelling to the US. There are those couple of questions that you have to answer 'yes' or 'no' to. And at the end it says: if you checked off 'yes' on any of the above questions you need to contact your local embassy before travelling to the US. This form is handed out about 1 1/2 – 2 hours before landing on American soil.I nearly laughed out loud when I got it the first time around "Flight attendant?! Would you please provide me with a parachute – I need to get off the plane and back home"
I'd put in a comment that if I ever caught my significant other in bed with someone else, after I shot them, I'd make sure I mentioned your ER… LOL
on TV it looks like without an insurance you cannot go anywhere – yes it is portrayed like that. Now we know that's not true.
The young lady I saw at "admissions" was really sweet as were the attendants who wheeled me around in a wheelchair and the two doctors I saw. I was really surprised not to get an ice-pack – perhaps it was an oversight. I was not so impressed with the ambulance people – but then they sent a separate questionnaire. 🙂
The questionnaires are worth doing if you feel that they are going to make a difference but it seems a waste of time to have called you more than once when you'd already stated your disatisfaction. As I was completing it I wondered how many people complete them.
Yes, those stories are silly and I think Katiebell has explained the system very well in her comment. There were a lot of "loud" patients in the ER at the same time as me so perhaps they got my ice-pack and meds – LOL. Oh, don't worry I made sure I let them know how unsatisfactory it was in that particular section. It will be interesting to see if they do contact me.
LOL …. well, I've been told that they are the best hospital to go to for gunshot wounds. I hope I never have to investigate that!
LOL…. and I don't imagine that you get to tell the ambulance where to take you. When I was in the ambulance I heard them asking over the radio which hospital they should take me to. The one they took me to was not the closest to where I was.
And if you can't pay for your E.R. visit, the rest of us get to pay for it with $10 aspirin tablets. I wondered how it was paid for if one doesn't have insurance. The bill for the ER; the x-rays; the orthopedic doctor and the ambulance were many, many thousands which came addressed to me as they didn't have my insurance details. I was surprised at how much it was actually.
I saw a guy walk in with a head wound – blood everywhere – they seemed to treat him pretty quickly. 🙂
rest, ice, compression, elevation – any of that would have been nice… I was stuck in a wheelchair and left holding my right arm tight against my body with my left hand. My eldest son does not have private insurance and when he got a hernia he had to wait 3 months for surgery – but they did tell him that if it "strangulated" (popped out and couldn't be pushed back in), it was considered an emergency and he would be operated on immediately.
Those bones better get a-knittin'! Jeez I hope so because I'm sick of the sling – 2 to 3 more weeks to go…..
I gave the last question a 3 which I hope indicated that I was neutral …..
This form is handed out about 1 1/2 – 2 hours before landing on American soil. LOL – that's really funny. Like when I was applying for my green card one of the questions was "are you a terrorist?" …….
LOL ….. I think it might have been the only question on the form without an option for additional comments.
So, there you are, torn up, riding in the back of the ambulance and you pull yourself upright and demand they take you to that emergency room because they have the best, floral scented waiting room, right? LOL
I have my disappointments with emergency rooms too, but not because of the ER itself. Rather, it was because after I was last admitted there some doctors came by, including a cardiologist who wanted to do things that I thought (and my own physician thinks) are unnecessary.
I am certain you answered 'yes' ……
I think trying to stay away from hospitals is a very good plan. 🙂
Oh, goodness gracious. You can tell idiots made out the questionnaire. Actually, they had a random set of questions and let a turtle walk over a piece of paper with them on it and the ones the turtle touched on were the ones they used.
LOL I often wonder who decides on what questions will be asked in questionnaires, surveys or census forms…… now I know.