Hospital Maintaining and Development

Dr. Arty Hart,

Per your request, ProCom has drafted a paper stating NATS’ position about emergency room overcrowding and the overabundance of patients who should not be there. The paper discusses three main categories of patients who should not be in emergency rooms and the effect it has on other patients. We hope this aids in your campaign.

Best,

Maya Smith

The National Association of Trauma Specialists (NATS) believes the major cause of overcrowded emergency treatment centers is the overabundance of patients who don’t need to be there. There are people who come in for minor medical care that could be received at their primary care physician. There are people who come in that were involved in accidents that could have been avoided if safety precautions would have been taken. Lastly, there are uninsured people who come in and use the emergency room in place of a regular physician. Because of the excess patients in emergency rooms, critically ill and badly injured patients are not getting the care they need.

A 2011 survey done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that out of every 100 people that entered the emergency room, only 11 of their cases were serious enough to have them admitted to the hospital. The other 89 patients had minor health issues that could have been cared for by a primary care physician. People want immediate medical care so they visit the emergency room despite the degree of the illness. This is leading to a longer wait time in the ER for everyone. Although emergency rooms triage patients, treating the “sickest” first, people in the “sickest” category are still waiting twice the recommended time before being seen by a physician (Emergency).

NATS feels that many emergency room visits are the result of home or automobile accidents that could have been avoided. The public should be educated about safe home and driving practices to eliminate avoidable accidents. The public can do their part in combatting overcrowded...