This is not an article on late breaking medical news but rather advice what to expect and how to get the best care if you must go to the emergency room.

  1. Take an updated list of all your medications or the actual bottles of your medications. Yes, that information is present somewhere in the medical system’s computer or on your personal portal but so are all the other medications that have been given in the last five years. Avoiding medication errors starts with the patient.
  2. If you have anything implanted in your body such as a cardiac pacemaker, defibrillator, heart valve, insulin pump, etc., keep a copy of the device ID that you were given originally in your wallet. I recently saw valuable hours wasted trying to find if the patient’s pacemaker was MRI compatible or not. Treatment for the suspected stroke was needlessly delayed by not having that information.
  3. Do not utilize the ambulance for trivial complaints such as nausea-vomiting, joint pain, rashes, etc. You do not move to the head of the line because you take an ambulance. You are triaged on admission and if trivial, you go to the waiting room. Our ambulance service is overworked and not available for true emergencies because they have responded to inconsiderate requests.
  4. If you must go to the emergency room because of an acute illness, the best time is in the early morning hours between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Waiting time is minimized and all hospital services are available. Expect to wait hours if you go between noon and midnight.
  5. If you are a heart patient, carry a small, laminated copy of your latest EKG with you. It will save you hours and dollars. Ask for a copy at each doctor’s visit when you have an EKG.
  6. Expect to see the doctors and nurses spending more time on the computer than with you or other patients. The modus operandi of the insurance payor is, “if it’s not documented, it’s not considered done.” Therefore, EVERYTHING must be documented, which takes hours.

A couple of DO NOT DO when you are in the exam room:

  1. Do not stand outside the exam room door demonstrating your impatience. You will be asked to go back into the room and if you don’t, security will be called. It is never pleasant.
  2. Do not make trivial requests of the nurses such as adjusting your TV or fluffing your pillow. Nurses are incredibly busy and such annoyances can turn the angels of mercy’s halos to daggers!

Suffering an illness or accident is never a “Disney Experience.” However, the ER team and the patient working together will deliver the best outcome.

Dr. Charlie Barnett is a contributor at KnoxTNToday for a weekly column, DocTalk, providing his expertise on health and wellness management.