What is more likely is that the number of people using (or abusing) the E.R.'s will increase because there are not enough primary-care doctors to actually see, much less treat, all the people having a shiny new Medicaid card to use for getting "free" care with no deductible.....first-dollar coverage.

...."This is worrisome," said study author Dr. Colin West, an internist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "In the next decade, we will be 50,000 primary-care physicians short for the needs of the country."

Compounding the likely shortage is health care reform under the Affordable Care Act, which is expected to flood the system with new patients in the coming years....."

Study Foresees Shortage of Primary-Care Doctors - US News and World Report

Hmmn.

WOW. Quite a "tense" debate on a beautiful Christmas day ! Since its the day after Christmas, I'll put in my $0.2. It is extremely difficult to be in medicine these days - every patient thinks the world revolves around them. If they are sick...they need to be seen right away. In the office or ED...well, how is that possible? How can EVERYBODY be the most important? Is a laceration more important than coughing blood? How about an asthma attack? You see, someone has to make those decisions everyday and those people aren't very popular.....because EVERYONE thinks THEY are sick and more important than the OTHER person.
Believe me, health care providers don't wake up in the morning and think "lets see how many people can I **** off today". They are dedicated caring people who would want to have NO-ONE wait to be seen if they were sick. But thats not the way it works.
The system of healthcare in the country is broken. Certainly, some of it has been damaged by those who abuse the system (ie: going to ED instead of PCP). Some of the damage is caused by litigation and consumer demands. By the shear cost of caring for the masses (and of course everyone demands absolutely everything be done - from saving the crack addicts to 95 year olds with dementia) do you know what this costs? Some of the money we spend on terminal care could be spent to teach and hire more nurses and doctors. If you think its bad now, wait for the affordable health care act to kick in.
Like I said, EVERYONE thinks they are the most important. We need to have some serious dialog in this country about health care - what is affordable, what should people expect, and what part does individual responsibility play (ie: if you've been an alcoholic should we all pay for your liver transplant or if you weigh 400 lbs. should we pay to have your stomach stapled). These are tough questions but without some answers, how will we afford to take care of the masses? And how will we take care of all these people in a timely manner?

We had the same experience there and my wife was admitted. Then the real waiting begins! We waited 27 hours to see a Dr.! Really he examined my wife at 1:15 AM!!! You see no one working at the hospital works for the hospital! The emergency room, radiology, doctors, don't work at the hospital the whole place is contracted out! After you leave a stay of 6 days (it takes six days to get the doctors in to see you) you get nearly a dozen bills from different people that saw you. If you need a Doctor they place a call and give the doctor 24 hours on a "call out" to get there! Most get there in 24 hours but some 27 or 28! Again from our experience. They need resident Doctors there (lots of them)! If you have anything wrong and you can possibly stay alive another half hour GO TO MONROE! MRMC Ocala.

Villages Regional Hospital came through for us.
 

The only experience we had was three years ago when our visiting grandson had an asthma attack in the middle of the night. He was immediately treated while his mother was somewhere else giving insurance information and his history was also immediatly assessed on line.

People were both professional and caring.

We don't go to the emergency room ever unless it is an emergency and if we had thought to call 911 we know he would have been quickly transported.

I suggest to all new folks to find a doctor and go to him/her and get set up. Get your records sent and be prepared to have some tests duplicated.

The only problem is finding just the right doctor in a brand new situation.

We are going to a D.O. after some hesitancy and some research. He has turned out to be pretty good. We had never consulted a D.O. before but actually their medical training is pretty close to M.D. We return to Cincinnati for our annual cancer doctor visits and Helene's cardiac visits. She, although an adult, continues to see cardiologists at Cincinnati Childrens because of a complicated heart birth defect.

Everyone has to do what his best for them, but being ready to have someone who knows your history is a good idea.

Health problems tend to come right along with birthdays.

Question? If you call an ambulance, 911, living in the Villages, and request to be taken to Monroe Regional in Ocala, will they do it?

I'm so sorry about your ordeal.

Six months ago I went to the ER and I was admitted immediately. I had heard horror stories about The Village hospital, my concern was magnified. However, I was in acute pain. I ended up having emergency surgery for a perforated colon, which required a colostomy. I was in ICU for several days and then transferred to a floor. My treatment was outstanding. Three months ago I returned to The Village hospital and had the colostomy reversed. Once again my care was fabulous, the surgeon was brilliant. The only negative comment would be some of the nurse aids, they were lazy.

I wish you the best in finding satisfactory medical care.