Episode 47: When to Visit the Emergency Department

In this episode Dr. Eddy Lang talks about the stress and pressure in Canadian Emergency Departments and in particular in Calgary. He explains when individuals should visit the Emergency Department and provides alternative suggestions to visiting the Emergency Department (E.D.).

Canadians are among the world’s higher users of emergency department care. In Calgary there are 300.000 visits a year, that is similar to other Canadian jurisdictions, but is significantly higher than Europe and USA. Despite this alarming fact it doesn’t look like anyone is abusing the system. Patients are genuinely concerned about their symptoms and they don’t tend to underestimate the severity of their health issues.

In his long experience in the E.D. Eddy never had inappropriate visits but he talks about  ways to make the visit more efficient. He suggests calling Health Link to understand if it’s urgent enough to go to the Emergency Department or there are alternative solutions to the patient’s concern.  He also talks about an application and a website that report the waiting times at various emergency departments in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. Eddy suggests that patients should contact their family physician, especially if they suffer from chronic diseases, and when it’s possible they should consider going to the E.D. in the morning when the patient flow is slower.

After listening to this podcast, listeners will be able to:
1.  Evaluate when to visit of the Emergency Department
2.  Be aware of alternative solutions to make the visit to E.D. more efficient
3.  Consider consulting the family physician or other healthcare providers before visiting the E.D.

Dr. Eddy Lang Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of CalgaryAccademic and Clinical Department Head Emergengy Medicine, Calgary.
Eddy Lang is the Academic and Clinical Department Head for Emergency Medicine in the Calgary Zone. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Calgary and holds the position of Senior Researcher with Alberta Health Services. His areas of interest are knowledge translation, evidence-based medicine and operations research. Dr. Lang is a member of the GRADE working group and has led the development of GRADE-based clinical practice guidelines in pre-hospital care in the US as well as with the International Liaison Committee for Resuscitation. Dr. Lang is also an award-winning educator having received recognition at both the university, national and international levels. He also serves as Senior Editor for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, Associate Editor for both ACP Journal Club and the International Journal of Emergency Medicine. He also writes a monthly column for the Calgary Herald on EDM as it relates to the public.

Read more:
HealthLink: http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/page12630.aspx
Emergency Departement Wait Time: http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/waittimes/waittimes.aspx