Posted on 06/14/2006 2:33:58 PM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
The U.S. emergency medical system is in critical condition and on life support -- overburdened, under-funded, and highly fragmented, according to three new reports released Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
According to the reports, ambulances are being turned away from emergency departments and patients can wait hours or even days for a hospital bed. And, as it stands, the system is currently unprepared to handle overloads of patients from disasters such as hurricanes, bombings, or disease outbreaks, the authors contended.
"These reports reinforce something we have known for a long time," said one expert, Dr. Rick Blum, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. "The challenges facing emergency medicine are reimbursement, overcrowding, ambulance diversion and lack of on-call specialists."
Gail Warden, chairman of the IOM's Hospital-Based Emergency Care Committee that did the reports, noted that "there has not been an in-depth study of emergency medicine done in 40 years."
His team's report finds the U.S. system in a precarious state. "Emergency rooms, in most cases, are overcrowded with long waits for patients to be admitted," Warden said. "Ambulances are frequently diverted to another hospital, because the primary one is overflowing. There is a lack of specialists to provide care in many emergency rooms. The transport of ambulances to emergency medical services is often fragmented, disorganized and inconsistent. In many cases, pediatric care falls short because emergency rooms are not prepared to care for children in the way that they should be."
To help solve these problems, Congress needs to earmark money to insure that emergency departments, trauma centers and medical first responders are fully equipped and ready to deliver fast and appropriate care, the IOM reports concluded.
(Excerpt) Read more at health.msn.com ...
Or people on the entitlement dole or people who just don't "feel like wasting money on health insurance".
The problem will expand exponentially, if the amnesty (whatever they call it) goes through. Already, thousands more are trying to get in -- just in case.
There is no mention of the hundreds of commercial emergency rooms that have gone bankrupt due to the inability to refuse service to clients that have no insurance or any intention to pay.
Totally. My hubby is an ER Doc and he is bilingual. Many illegals come in to use ER as family doc. I keep telling him to call ICE and report them all!
Report them to who? To where?
ICE doesn't have it together either. Yeesh. I will pray for your husband, the doc..he is going to need it...cause illegals can sue and win. How bizzare is that?
Of course I know he cant really report them..violate their "rights".
Actually when the amnesty goes thru all those new low-paid, low-skilled people will be eligible for medical (or whatever it is called in your state). The hospitals will get paid it will just be thru the state/fed govt's.
As it is now, they put in a 000-00-000 SS# and get pd a fraction.
Which is why health insurance for the rest of us costs so much.
Suppose you own a restaurant and serve dinners for 10 dollars ....now suppose you have a regular clientele that patronizes your place and pays 10 dollars a meal....and further, suppose the governmnet decides that since food is essential that you must serve dinner to anyone who comes in your restaurant and you can not determine who or when they will come in... now, these people have no means nor intention to pay for their dinners, and they are 4 times more likely to file a suit against you than are your usual clientele for tainted food, slip and fall accidents or whatever imagined fault they can find. Just how long do you suppose you would stay in business? Well, folks, that is the ER department's dilema. You and I are paying for their ER losses in terms of higher hospital bills and insurance payments....it's simply hidden socialism....but now with mangled care, the losses are more difficult to pass on to unsuspecting schleps like us so ER's are closing as are hospitals in areas of the country where this is most prevelent - but the problem is spreading and coming to a hospital near you!!
the whole thing is so disgusting....its the whole being held hostage and threatend by the "entitlement victims".
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