Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1438249)

I hope mom gets better quickly. I'm not sure if you really need an orthopedist if it is just a contusion, but Dr. Tom Sullivan is among the best, he's been my family orthopedist and colleague for 30 years, but he is in TVH specialty care system.

DB and I have posted much of the ER problems and possible solutions on multiple threads before. The main problem is probably systemic and "cultural". An ER needs leadership from the top---a lackadaisical ER physician will spread that "culture" down the line. The best ERs have a stable group of physicians that live in the community they serve---they tend to give top quality care when the patients are their friends and neighbors. An ER that farms out physician services to a South Florida group that has an excess of locum tenens MDs likely results in shift mentalities, punching the time clock and watching the clock until shift is over. They have no vested interest in the community and therefor tend to work in slow gear. This then starts the cascade down the line. It is also hard to retain good nurses---imagine a diligent nurse who constantly has to remind the doc that there are 5 patients ready to be seen? Imagine the triage person who constantly has to tell the lab there are 6 patients that need blood drawn? They get sick of it pretty quickly. From what I've seen, this seems to be a large contributing factor to wait time.









That statement is just ridiculous. ERs are notorious for LOSING tons of money, it is not a profit center for a hospital (Agree, DB?). Also COBRA regulations require that a patient that comes to your ER MUST be evaluated by a physician PRIOR to being sent elsewhere. Violation fines begin at 50K.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1438332)

At least it shows they are aware of the issue and have some concern.

I think a better time to track is the time from arrival until being seen by a physician, and secondarily, the time from being first seen to either admission or discharge.