Dictionary.com defines emergency as an unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring urgent, immediate attention; a dangerous situation, demanding immediate action.

Hospital emergency rooms were established to care for people who were in life threatening situations that require immediate medical attention.

Physician’s office’s (doctor’s office) on the other hand were established to treat patients with medical needs that do not fall into the emergency category and to build a long term patient-doctor relationship.

Over the years medical centers, clinics and urgent care centers were established to assist patients who needed non-emergency medical care, but who might not have a personal or family physician that they see on a regular basis.

The lack of medical insurance coverage for many Americans is also one of the reasons that Urgent Care Centers have become such a major part of the American health care industry.

The purpose of a hospital emergency rooms is to provide emergency services to anyone who is experiencing a life threatening situation. Emergency rooms works inconjuction with the fire department paramedics, and with ambulance services, to save lives.

A hospital emergency room can only accommodate a specific amount of patients, and when all the beds in an emergency room are taken, the emergency room will have to redirect patients to other hospitals.

In a life threatening situation, time and the proper treatment is always the most important factors in saving a life. Getting the care and treatment needed in a true emergency can mean the difference between life and death.

As our population ages and many of our elderly citizen finds themselves living alone, hospital emergency rooms are experiencing an increase of non emergency patients. These are patients whose emergency room visits could be avoided. Some of the reasons why our elderly people end up in the emergency rooms of their local hospitals include improper medication management, malnutrition, dehydration, and even loneliness. These problems are both avoidable and preventable.

With a growing number of elderly people choosing to age in their own home, the in-home care industry has experienced significant growth and has added additional professional services for people needing both medical and non-medical assistance in their homes.

An in-home care team could assist a person who needs help with doctor’s visits, medication management, proper nutrition management, companionship, and some in-home light housekeeping duties. When you consider that a visit to a hospital emergency room could cost between $500.00 and up depending on the medical need of the patient, the cost of in-home care could end up being considerably less than an emergency room visit.

After all, each time a patient enters an emergency room he/she will be treated as an emergency case, and will be subjected to the required routine of the emergency room. Based on the complaints of the patient, the emergency room physician will order tests that will either rule out or gives an idea of the best recourse to use to assist the patient. Additionally, patients who use emergency rooms as a physician's office could be creating a serious problem for patients who are experiencing true emergencies.

How To Avoid Emergency Room Visits With Non-Emergency Health Issues.

• Call your physician’s office when you are experiencing symptoms or pain that you are unfamiliar with.
• Do not wait until your condition becomes so severe that you panic and call 911
• Do follow your physician’s order in taking your medication
• Employ a care attendant who can assist you with medication reminders, and proper nutrition.
• Keep in contact with someone whom you can call when you are feeling lonely and alone
• Remember the hospital emergency room is there for you when you have an emergency, but, misuse of an emergency room could have its consequences.

Lets all help to keep health care cost from sky rocketing further by being aware of how we use our health care insurance regardless of whether it is private or government-sponsored.