Question

Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically underserved population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care? What would you propose as a means to change this situation?

Answer 1

These terms emergency department and primary medical care units are two different terms used for different purposes:

Emergency department: It provides care for a patient when a sudden and unexpected events or illness is there it may be due to infection, road traffic accidents , any cardiac failure,any respiratory failure, assault, any other sudden onset illness or a threat in such a way that it can't wait an extended period of time for appointments. It is a expensive option that focuses on immediate medical help to save life of a subject.

Primary medical care: Primary care is a basic level of healthcare that helps to access, prevent, maintain and diagnosis of illness. It may be treative or preventive in nature.It is cost effective care coordinating with other medical super specialist at higher levels .

Emergency departments are used as primary care service by mainy people's due to unawareness of health, importance of health, health education among society.

Main implications of this practice are as follows:#For patients:

1) It is expensive.

2) Chances of survival are less.

3) Difficult to diagnose a condition

4) May uses resources of required patient.

5) Extra stress over emg department.

6) Difficult to diagnose and follow ups accordingly.

#Health care costs: As inflow of undeserving subjects increases it will costs for extra staff ,physicians and other supportive staff which have paid salary for work as a result of which this treatment become more unaffordable and expensive

# Quality of care:

It will also decreased because of more subjects admitted in which some of them are not clearly in a life threatening condition.

Consumes energy of medical professionals.

All tests for diagnostic purpose can't possible.

For changing this situation following is proved to be beneficial:

1) Health education: For routine testing and diagnosis of illness.

2) Easy accessable PHC: easy accessable primary health care centres will decrease inflow to emg department.

3) Qualified staff:That deal with all conditions smoothly and co ordinated manner.

4) Establishment of OPD: new out patient department are established for service of subjects.

5) Referral to concern department: Emg department have also responsibility of stablising the pt .condition and after that transfer the subject to concern department.

6) other means including , routine camps in rural areas, awarness among society etc.