Anecdotally, I have heard stories of physicians encouraging their Medicare and Medicaid patients to go to the Emergency Department because of the lack of adequate reimbursement for office visits and/or difficulty of getting a timely appointment. Sad and terribly inappropriate, but unfortunately true.

Likewise, for typically older patients with multiple chronic conditions a fairly routine ailment or injury may require multi-disciplinary medical attention through a trauma team to attend to the varied concerns, potentially conflicting treatments, and pharma coordination. These patients often wind up in the Emergency Department since the decades-long trend of strict medical specialization no longer provides “convenient one-stop shopping” for one's health care which now can only be sought at the hospital in most rural areas.

A lot of seniors these days do not necessarily live close to their family or have lost a partner and hence, are often by themselves. Any pain or sickness seems to magnify itself under these conditions. And if transportation is an issue, it may seem “easier” for the senior to call an ambulance than a taxi or neighbor.

Of course, most emergency room visits are an emergency. But, if you were an 80-year old widowed senior citizen with a tummy ache, where would you rather be? Home alone or at the hospital with nurses and orderlies to take care of you?

A lot of seniors these days do not necessarily live close to their family or have lost a partner and hence, are often by themselves. Any pain or sickness seems to magnify itself under these conditions. And if transportation is an issue, it may seem “easier” for the senior to call an ambulance than a taxi or neighbor.

Of course, most emergency room visits are an emergency. But, if you were an 80-year old widowed senior citizen with a tummy ache, where would you rather be? Home alone or at the hospital with nurses and orderlies to take care of you?

Anecdotally, I have heard stories of physicians encouraging their Medicare and Medicaid patients to go to the Emergency Department because of the lack of adequate reimbursement for office visits and/or difficulty of getting a timely appointment. Sad and terribly inappropriate, but unfortunately true.

Likewise, for typically older patients with multiple chronic conditions a fairly routine ailment or injury may require multi-disciplinary medical attention through a trauma team to attend to the varied concerns, potentially conflicting treatments, and pharma coordination. These patients often wind up in the Emergency Department since the decades-long trend of strict medical specialization no longer provides “convenient one-stop shopping” for one’s health care which now can only be sought at the hospital in most rural areas.