SALISBURY, MD-Knowing what type of medical issue requires a visit to an emergency room, urgent care, or a primary care physician can be key in reducing wait times for patients, and the number of patients those medical services have to see.
“We have wait times of 4 to 5 hours for conditions that are normally triaged and treated within half an hour,” said ExpressCare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sutra Gombe-Alie.
Dr.Alie told 47ABC while those times may sound long, waiting time for emergency rooms could be even longer, and she hopes people take advantage of services like hers, and avoid further stressing emergency rooms.
“Minor injuries like sprains burns cuts, anything of that nature can be taken care of at express care like other urgent care centers, that is to give the ER a break,” she said.
Both services will not turn away patients, but seeing everyone can create those long wait times, especially for emergency rooms.
“The more people that come that really don’t need to be there, it jams it up for the people who do need to be there,” said TidalHealth Penninsula Regional Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charles B Silvia.
Dr.Silvia told 47ABC, that due because emergency rooms typically see more extreme medical problems people may have, the system of triage in an emergency room means that if you have an injury that could have been taken care of at a primary care physician, specialist, or urgent care, the wait time can become far greater.
“You may show up and a minute later someone much sicker than you comes in well they need to be seen first,” he said.
“If you think waiting in our waiting room for two or three hours for a sinus infection for example is long, if you go to the emergency room it could be twice or three times longer than that,” Dr. Alie said.
That’s why both Dr.Silvia and Dr.Alie told 47ABC, that for chronic conditions that are not becoming worse, the best place to go is a primary care provider or a specialist.
The emergency room is best for treating life-threatening and urgent incidents such as those that may require surgery or a prolonged stay in a hospital.
Medical conditions that fall between those two extremes, including screenings and treatment for strep, flu vaccinations, and other moderate health problems are typically best served by urgent care facilities.
Dr. Alie told 47ABC, that she can appreciate that for most people, understanding that distinction can be difficult, but she says ExpressCare can send patients to the emergency room if they feel they need more help than they can provide.
“If it is something we can treat here we will treat them if it’s something that is beyond the scope of what we can do here we will stabilize them and send them to the emergency room or refer them as appropriate,” she said.
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