
Studies are now recognizing patients who might be habitually seeking treatment in emergency rooms with symptoms stemming from mental disorders.
As the name suggests, emergency rooms were supposed to be for emergencies. By emergencies, one can mean a health condition or event that requires immediate medical attention or one that can turn life-threatening in no time. However, emergency rooms are changing fast. Today these rooms are the first stop for patients who have nowhere else to go. In a lighter vein, it is not uncommon for emergency rooms to see patients coming with non-emergency complaints such as stubborn coughs or unexplainable stomach aches and headaches that never find a physical diagnosis.
Emergency rooms essentially don’t work like clinics. These rooms don’t work on the principle of first-come, first-served. The room works on the principle of giving priority to the sickest patients. It means that if you are required to wait in an emergency room, you probably don’t need immediate medical attention and there are more sick patients than you in the room.
It is not uncommon for emergency doctors to identify the ‘frequent flyers’ who might be visiting the room frequently with similar symptoms and leaving with no conclusive recovery plan. Many times, these patients are those suffering from mental disorders, having somatic symptoms and going undiagnosed for months or even years.
The article is attempting to understand whether emergency rooms can provide relief to people approaching with psychological symptoms and do they get the same kind of attention and care that others having physical ailments might receive.
Who are these ‘frequent visitors’?
The position of emergency rooms in the present time is as confusing for patients as it is for healthcare workers who are working there. Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is an increasing public health issue and is particularly associated with rising healthcare costs, longer waiting times, longer overall length of ED- stay, decreasing patient satisfaction, and higher mortality.
Upcoming studies are now recognizing some patients who might be habitually seeking treatment in emergency rooms. Among these patients are those who might be primarily suffering from mental health conditions or even substance abuse. While emergency rooms can help them with the physical aspect of mental illness (for instance, injuries due to self-harm), there might also be a need to undertake specialized care. Many times, patients might not seek specialized care (like visiting a mental health specialist) and this might end up in them returning with similar symptoms to the emergency room after some time has passed.
window.addEventListener(‘load’, (event) => {
// $(document).ready(function(){
$(‘#commentbtn’).on(“click”,function(){
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
$(“.cmntbox”).toggle();
});
// });
});