...but I found this mildly amusing. I had mono in the spring and on one occasion, had to go to the emergency room at 1 AM. I waited three hours to see a doctor. I thought that was frankly ridiculous. My insurance doesn't cover all ER expenses (I probably should read the fine print, because I have no idea why), so I actually got a bill from the hospital two months later for $133.22. I was miffed. So I didn't pay it. And the months rolled by-- six of them. Finally, I got a letter threatening to submit my account for collection unless I paid. So I sent them a check, enclosing a note: "Thanks for your recent letter. Here's your check. I guess now y'all know how it feels to wait."
Er's are a joke. I once took a friend to an er for a sprained shoulder that was hurting really bad. They said the wait would be SIX HOURS! We just left and made an appointment with a doctor for the next day.
Not that I encourage this sort of thing either, but maybe you guys should have called 911. You would zip right in front of the line.
My insurance refused once to pay for my "boot" when I had tendinitis in three tendons. So, I waited the "boot" company out. They kept billing me for the boot my docotr gave me. Almost eight months went buy and the bills began to stack up. Eventually, the boot company said they got my insurance company to pay for it. I'm not sure what they did to get it paid off, maybe they lied, but they finally figured out a way. Sometimes it just takes a little patience.
Kidney Stones 1994 + 3hr ER wait + EXTREEEEEEEME F$%CKING PAIN! + 1 shot of Barbituates = $1800 ER visit
Actually, that's not always true. My mom called 911 a few weeks ago because her blood pressure had skyrocketed and she was afraid she was going to have a stroke or something. (Also, my aunt is a doctor and told her to get the hell to the hospital.) When she got there, they told her it would be THREE HOURS. She and my dad took a cab home, got their truck, and drove to memorial northwest (25 miles from their home) and were seen immediately. The doctor was even able to take blood tests and a cat scan right there. They kept her for a couple of hours for observation, and her blood pressure went back down. So, I think it depends. Coincidentally, my mom's doctor had an emergency that same evening and was also made to wait for three hours. That must be the standard in some ERs
So what, I had a broken arm and a broken nose, and I had to wait three freakin hours. I was crying like hell, I think I scared the children that were there....
In ER, the people who need medical attention the most desperately get seen first. It is not a first-come-first-served deal. If you have a should sprain or something, of course you have to wait. I got in an accident once (when I was a kid) that tore a big gash in my leg. I was surprised when I was told to sit and wait for quite awhile (I forget how long). But, in the meantime, people were coming in from a car accident, a guy with a gunshot wound, another guy with several stab wounds. So, it makes sense to me. As for insurance companies...
I'm sure the billing person felt really zinged by that retort! Just kidding. I know how you feel. Hospitals suck. I had to take my wife to the ER last year for a pretty bad ear infection. The crowd was so big, we just left and she toughed it out until the next day. The problem with ER's is that many times people without insurance or without money have to visit an ER just to see a doctor for a cold or for their baby's cough. ER's befome overburdened because poorer people don't always have access to a free clinic and cannot afford a doctor.
There aren't many people (still alive) that can "top" my brother's experience at the ER. My mom took him to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing. He was 20. His ankles had swollen, to where it was painful to walk. When they got to the ER, they were told to wait. THIRTEEN HOURS later, they got around to seeing him. They found out he had a severe heart infection, and admitted him immediately. He was shortly put on the heart transplant waiting list, and a year or so later had a transplant. I hate hospitals.
And the hospital would be encouraged to charge $300-$500 for the ambulance. I understand people with more serious injuries deserve more immediate attention, but sometimes the wait and enormous bills are just too depressing. Warning: Graphic story! On a sidenote. Back when I was in the seventh grade I used to live in some apartments in Pasadena. Well me and a bunch of friends were playing soccer and the ball went into some bushes. I walk into the bushes and the mud was slippery as hell. Well I slip and fall. But amazingly as I am falling I see a metal water pipe that is about to hit my head when I land. I can exactly remember what is going through my head in that split second even today. I turn a little bit in mid air and manage to avoid gettting hit in the head. I land fine except my arm went through and shattered the first floor window of an apartment. I get up quickly and realize something is not rite. I didnt feel any pain, but my white shirt was turning red FAST! I now feel this throbbing in my left arm and roll up my sleeves. My arm near the biceps was cut wide open. It was about the size of an audio tape. I could see the viens and all the stuff that would make normal people throw up. I run to my apartment and am screaming for my mom. My dad was just getting ready to leave town on a business trip. I am banging on the door yelling for my mom. My mom opens the door and gets more hysterical then me when she sees the gash. My neighbor and my dad get me in the nieghbors car and we drive fast to the hospital. Of course I had to wait three hours while I am bleeding to death. Okay just kidding about that part They took me straight into the operating room. Afterwards they wouldnt even tell me or my parents how many stiches I had gotten and told me I might have gotten my arm amputated if I was much longer (or something to that effect). Point of the story is I understand people with more pressing emergencys get first priority. But human nature kicks in when one has been waiting for three hours in the waiting room.
During last season's playoff run with my basketball team I dislocated my finger in two places with about a minute into the first. The tendons were twisted around, the knuckle was unhinged and pressing backwards, bulging through my skin, and the tip was grossly contorted to a ninty degree angle. So, the local hospital should of been able to deal with this is a timely manner? After about hour and a half when my finger was cold and losing circulation I was given medical attention. The people who went in front of me had crippling debilities such as the flu, a child with 102 temp, and the ever deadly coughing spells.
A few months ago I got drunk and fell into a campfire while wrestling a friend at the river. My entire right hand was burned badly. I went to the ER, and after a two hour wait (at 4 am) they finally shot me up with some demerol and taped my hand up. The doctor came by and glanced at my hand, then walked off without saying a word. They never instructed me on how to deal with it (I had to go see a private doc to get that). A month later I got a $550 bill in the mail for the demerol and the "treatment". I pay down a dollar a month just to avoid the collectors... I'd tell them to go * themselves if I didn't have perfect credit.
The child was probably 5 and the fever didn't seem to stop him from bouncing around the waiting room.
Oh and I forgot to mention this. The friend I took to the hospital filled out a form and the lady who we turned the form into checked his blood pressure. After a few weeks he got a bill for like $130!!?!?!?!?!
There's a dude called Triage who'se job it is to decide whether you're about to die right now and are worth bothering some doctor about, or whether you're just in extreme pain and should wait it out. Also, Memorial City Hospital, ALWAYS triple charges. Always. Whenever you call and question the amount the bill will get cut in 1/3 (this has happened for three seperate surgeries that I know of) but they assume that you won't mind having your insurance ripped off and they will be too busy to care. I swear. This is their real, legitimate business practice. I was in the hospital twice this week, once all whacked out with Seratonin Syndrome from a bad reaction with a perscription drug. A crazed, 6-3 250lb dude with pupils the size of quarters, drenched in sweat doing backflips will get looked at real quick. When I went back for a run-of-the-mill case of strep throat and a 103 degree temp at 4 in the morning, they took their sweet time. Oh well.
