[Abby10]

Originally Posted by dbussone

Under the federal law called EMTALA, ERs must take and treat emergent patients. Non-emergent patients can be discharged, without treatment, from the ER, after a brief screening exam.

Whomever told you ERs have to treat everyone doesn’t know what they are talking about. It is true that ERs must treat without regard to payment, but again, only for emergent patients.

If The Villages hospital wanted to they could have a nurse (or PA, or ARNP) conduct a preliminary screening exam and triage a patient to a more appropriate setting. If the nurse were unsure, he/she could refer the patient for a screening exam by a physician.

With an overflowing waiting room, a screening exam would be useful in eliminating patients who did not need the level of care provided in an ER. In one of my hospitals we placed a nurse in the waiting room. It was that person’s job to perform a screening exam within five minutes of arrival. That exam eliminated all the drug seekers, minor injuries and other lesser issues than could be referred to urgent care or even a clinic.

The Villages hospital spent millions on an expansion of the ER several years ago. I predicted then that physical enhancement was not going to resolve the problems being experienced at that time. Sorry to say I have been proven correct. The bottlenecks are primarily people and processes - not folks in beds upstairs waiting to be discharged.


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What a great idea! I knew you were a very smart man. Better watch out, The Villages hospital will be calling both you and GE and giving you offers you can't refuse to come out of retirement.