Emergency Rooms are Disasters

Dan Frith

Contributor

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Don't take my word for it...take the word of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The annual report card by the ACEP gave the nation a D- grade for Americans’ access to emergency care, saying the emergency care system was “fraught with significant challenges and under more stress than ever before.”

The problem is that demand is many times greater than capacity. Demand is growing because many Americans have no other way to receive medical care. Capacity is not growing to keep pace with demand because hospitals can't make the enough of a profit providing emergency room care...they concentrate on the profitable lines of care like surgery, cancer treatment, etc.

My Take: Dramatic change needs to take place immediately...this is a time bomb waiting to explode. Hospitals should not be so concerned with profit and do what they were intended to do....care for the sick and injured.