I am back from the ER. I have lost *ALL* respect for ER doctors!!!! Once again, I was not helped with what I needed help with. They misdiagnosed me again AFTER I told them what my Neurologist had diagnosed me with, even though we do not know for sure.
@33MHz Especially when the hospital doctor *insists* on giving you a WRONG diagnosis and treatment when you have told him what a specialist has said. Personally, I will believe the specialist, a neurologist in my case, over a general practitioner.
@hybotics also, would like to take this opprtunity to point out ERs are generally staffed by physicians and advanced practice providers that are board-certified in emergency medicine. EM is a medical specialty. not a general practice. @33MHz
@hybotics GP is a term that doesn't see a ton of use now days. It used to be synonymous with your PCP; however, even your PCP is either trained in internal medicine or family medicine, both of which are medical specialties. @33MHz
@thedoctor Yeah. We haven't needed a PCP particularly, but have been able to get one a few months ago, and are starting our regular appointments. @hybotics
@33MHz My insurance requires me to have a PCP and he is responsible for recommending any additional care I might need. I got my new glasses and now I have to look into getting a hearing aid. I have about 50% loss in my left ear.
@hybotics I am sorry to hear you are having such a frustrating time. Unfortunately, depending on what you need help with, the ER may not be the place to go. We have a specific set of tests we run depending on what brings you into the ER.
@hybotics if those tests rule out any life-threatening condition, there are two further directions that can be taken. If you are really sick and require immediate attention, you get admitted to the hospital.
@hybotics Less sick patients are referred back to their PCP and/or a specialist to treat their condition on an outpatient basis. The key thing here is there is a broader set of diagnostics that can be done as an outpatient that can't be done in ER.