Emergency room // Current

Homeless take their health care battle to YouTube!

Taking their struggle to YouTube, Twin Cities' homeless are telling Minnesota Governor... more

trinity4
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4 months ago
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Some ERs Putting Wait Times on the Internet

A quick check on the Internet could have avoided an 80-minute emergency room wait.

TravG73
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Man dies during 34-hour wait in ER

Health officials say a man who died in the waiting area of a major Winnipeg hospital's emergency department may have been dead "for some time" before medical staff was alerted — 34 hours after he arrived.

The 45-year-old arrived by taxi at the Health Sciences Centre around 3 p.m. Friday from the Health Action Centre, a community health centre in central Winnipeg, where he had an earlier appointment, officials said.

'We're quite shocked that this could happen.'—Dr. Brock Wright

He was found dead after midnight Sunday.

It appears the man was never assessed by a triage nurse and was not registered as a patient seeking care, Wright said.

Someone in the waiting room alerted the hospital staff that the man appeared dead, and that's when the man was finally seen by medical personnel, he said.

"There was reason to believe at that time that the patient had passed, had been dead for some time," Wright said.

"We don't know how long, but it's likely that the patient had been deceased for a period of time. I can't put a time frame to that."

Health officials did not release information on the cause of death.

It appears the man had some contact with other staff in the emergency department during his wait, Wright said, but the system depends on patients being processed by the triage desk, which determines whether a person needs to be seen immediately or can wait.

A man was found dead in an emergency department waiting room, 34 hours after arriving at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. A man was found dead in an emergency department waiting room, 34 hours after arriving at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. (CBC)Two triage nurses are always on duty in the hospital's emergency room, Wright said, and a reassessment nurse is also on duty from about 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to check on the condition of people who have registered in the waiting room.

He noted that emergency departments are often filled with people not looking for medical care — for example, family members of patients or homeless people who come in looking for a place out of the cold.

"There's lots of people in an emergency department at HSC at any given time who aren't only the patients waiting. But how this person could be there for 34 hours and go sort of undetected is really surprising to us and is the focus of our investigation," Wright said.Health officials say a man who died in the waiting area of a major Winnipeg hospital's... more

TravG73
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Handyman dies while waiting for treatment

An air of sadness blanketed Afoo Supermarket on Tuesday as Esteban Caraballo’s... more

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Patient care to end over insurance impasse

You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford....

This is a case where the hospital and the insurance company were unable to reach a payment agreement. The hospital and insurance companies have mutually agreed not to do business with each other.
The patients in the hospital who are receiving treatment will have to leave before the deadline set in the agreement, although a clause has been left saying that those with the insurance can still receive emergency room services such as trauma or child birth. I think it's outrageous that you could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford. This makes room for patient discrimination. Here's the article:

Temple University Health System's doctors are notifying patients that they've reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Keystone Mercy Health Plan.

The contract expires Aug. 31. "Based on the expiration of these contracts, [Temple University Physicians] can no longer provide primary care, specialty care or hospital outpatient testing at Temple University Health System facilities for patients covered by Keystone Mercy," the university said in a written release this week.

Keystone Mercy is a Medicaid-managed care plan operated by Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross.

Keystone Mercy subscribers will still be able to receive emergency care and treatment for ongoing health conditions, such as pregnancy or chronic illness.

The contract dispute involves about 350 physicians and the health plan. The contract expired on Dec. 31, 2007 and it has been extended four times.

Temple estimates that nearly 12,000 patients are affected by the contract problems. It says the doctors receive $8 million a year from Keystone Mercy - $12 million less than it costs to provide care to the company's subscribers.

The health system itself has extended its contract with Keystone Mercy until Nov. 30, according to Rick Buck, a Keystone spokesman.

"It is Keystone Mercy's intention to maintain its business relationship with Temple University Physicians and Temple University Health System," Buck said.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Let others know and join the conversation by commenting below.You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the... more