I work in a small rural hospital, where we deal with all areas, and the number of non-emergent ER visits I see is really making me hate my job! The other day, the Dr's clinic nurse informed me at 10:30 am that there would be a patient coming to the ER at 1:00 pm. This patient had fallen 3 days prior and had been suffering hip pain since. When I asked why the patient couldnt come now if it was an emergency, I was told that she did not have a ride until 1:00 and she did not want to call the ambulance. I then protested that if it were an emergency, she would come immediately rather than scheduling an ER appointment (i guess that's a thing?!?!?), and if it could wait then she could be seen in the clinic. The clinic nurse explained that it needed to be done in the ER because the Dr wanted the patient to be lying down for her assessment (LOLOLOL). I ended the call, then went and informed my DON of this, who found it as ridiculous as I did, and went to talk to the Dr. Upon returning, she stated that the patient was coming to the ER at 1:00 because she had told the Dr she did not want to be seen in the clinic due to her insurance coverage. Please share your thoughts on this, I see this sort of thing all the time and am just wondering if this happens anywhere else.
