reasons to visit er

When to Visit the ER

Unsure when to visit the ER? Learn about common signs and symptoms that indicate you should seek emergency care.

This article is based on reporting that features expert sources.

Patients sitting in waiting room. Confident doctor and nurse are walking in corridor. They are in hospital.

Getty Images

It's 2 a.m., and you wake up with a terrible pain in your lower back . It's 5 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, and you suddenly feel extremely nauseous. It's 9 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, and the cough that's been bothering you suddenly seems to take a turn for the worse. What should you do?

Depending on the severity of the problem and your overall health, the answer to that question may be to head to the emergency room – a unit within your local hospital that handles all manner of emergent medical issues.

“ER providers are able to very quickly assess and treat sudden, serious and often life-threatening health issues,” explains Dr. Sameer Amin, chief medical officer with L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country that serves nearly 2.9 million members.

The ER, also known as the emergency department, is open 24/7 and can handle a wide range of illnesses, including physical and psychiatric issues, adds Patrick Cassell, patient care administration, emergency services, with Orlando Health in Florida.

Some ERs are Level 1 trauma centers that can handle “very high-level stuff,” he explains, while others, such as those in a community hospital or more rural settings, might need to transfer patients to a larger facility. These transfers happen when the acuity (severity) of the need exceeds the hospital's capacity to care for the patient on-site.

Common Reasons to Visit the ER

So, what constitutes an emergency?

“For us, an emergency is what the patient thinks is an emergency,” Cassell says. “It’s something that we don’t get judge-y about.”

According to a report from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in 2018 (the most recent year data was available), U.S. residents made 143.5 million emergency room visits. Circulatory and digestive system conditions were the most common reasons for an emergency room visit, and 14% of those seen in the ER were admitted to the hospital .

Some common reasons to visit the ER include:

Chest pains .
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Abdominal pain, which may be a sign of appendicitis , bowel obstruction, food poisoning or ulcers .
Uncontrollable nausea or vomiting.
COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory infections .
Severe headaches .
Weakness or numbness.
Complications during pregnancy .
Injuries, such as broken bones, sprains, cuts or open wounds.
Urinary tract infections .
Dizziness, hallucinations and fainting .
Mental health disorders or suicide attempts.
Substance use disorders.
Back pain .
Skin infections, rashes or lesions on the skin.
Foreign object stuck inside the body.
Tooth aches .

When to Seek Urgent Care Instead of the ER

If you're questioning where to seek care, you should opt for the emergency room if you might have a potentially serious condition or are in severe pain, advises Dr. Brian Lee, medical director of the Emergency Care Center at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California.

However, if you’re having a medical issue that’s not a full-blown emergency, but your primary care provider can’t get you in for an appointment, that’s a good time to head to an urgent care provider.

“Urgent care clinics are best equipped for a less dire level of care,” Amin explains. “They fill the gaps when the health concern will not require a hospital stay but still needs immediate treatment.”

Deciding between the ER and urgent care also depends on your medical history, notes Dr. Christopher E. San Miguel, clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. For example, most people with a cough and a low-grade fever can be treated at an urgent care clinic without difficulty.

“If, however, you have a history of a lung transplant, you should probably be seen for your cough and fever at an ED,” he recommends.

Because urgent care centers typically offer less robust interventions than what you’d find at the emergency room, they can’t help in all situations. They can, however, refer you to a local ER if you do require more intensive care. They also tend to have a lower deductible than the ER, “and if you’re paying out of pocket, urgent cares can be cheaper than an emergency department typically,” Cassell says.

Cost of Urgent Care vs. ER

On the cost front, San Miguel says there are a few factors to be aware of, particularly if funds are an issue.

“Urgent cares are like any other outpatient health care office – they can require payment up front and decline to see patients who are unable to pay,” San Miguel explains.

Emergency departments, however, are compelled by federal law – the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act, which was enacted in 1986 – to see patients and assess them for “life- or limb-threatening illness and injuries regardless of their ability to pay,” he says.

While this means that the ER must see you, they can “decline to treat non-life-threatening problems once they determine that they are non-life-threatening,” San Miguel adds.

You won’t be charged a fee upfront to be seen in the emergency room, but the hospital can and will bill you after you’ve been discharged.

When you accept treatment at the emergency department, “you’re still ultimately accepting responsibility for the bill ,” San Miguel points out. “And because of the nature of providing a 24-hour service that is prepared to handle any emergency, the cost of care in the ED is much higher than the cost in an urgent care.”

If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve received emergency care but are unable to pay, you should call the billing office as soon as possible to talk about your options.

“Often the bill will be reduced and you’ll be placed on a reasonable payment plan,” San Miguel says.

For any non-urgent or ongoing health concerns, visit with your primary care provider, Amin adds.

“It’s always better to have longstanding issues taken care of in a calm and collected manner during normal business hours,” he explains.

How Long Is the Wait at an ER?

Before you arrive, consider that you could be in for a long wait, depending on the type of problem you’re having and the situation inside the ER.

“We don’t operate on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s based on how sick you are,” Cassell explains.

For instance, he says, patients with more severe illnesses, such as a suspected heart attack or stroke , will take precedence over less severe problems, such as a sprain or an earache .

Even though you may walk in and find an empty waiting room and assume you’ll be seen quickly, there could be all sorts of activity going on behind the scenes. Especially in larger ERs, ambulances may be arriving with sick patients or the ER may already be very busy with sicker patients. You will get the same triage if you come by ambulance or walk in to the ER.

So rest assured that if you are very sick, you will get brought back immediately if you walk into ER. Similarly, if you take an ambulance for broken toe, it wont get you in sooner. You will likely be placed in waiting room if ER full.

San Miguel adds, “The best thing you can do is to let the triage/registration team know if there has been a change in your symptoms while you are waiting. For instance, if your chest pain is getting worse or if you are now having trouble breathing, this should prompt the team to reassess you and make sure you are triaged appropriately.”

What Should You Do While You're Waiting to Be Seen?

While you’re waiting, Amin recommends considering what the provider will ask you, such as:

When did symptoms start?
How long have they been going on for? Have they changed in severity or frequency?
Are symptoms related to a health issue you’re being treated for?
What triggered your visit to the ER today?

You should also bring a list of your medications, health conditions and history, such as chronic conditions and previous surgeries. It's also a good idea to have the names of the providers on your care team, including your primary care doctor and any specialist. Having this information at the ready is especially helpful if you’re headed to an ER that’s outside of the health system you typically use.

“It’s immensely valuable if patients are able to provide us with an accurate history of their medical problems and current medications,” San Miguel notes. “Unfortunately, not all electronic health systems communicate with each other, and in the middle of the night, it can be impossible to request records from another hospital.”

What Happens When You See an ER Provider

When you are brought in to see a provider, the initial aim of the interaction is to assess what’s going on and make sure you’re stabilized.

For some patients, a "big point of frustration is the need to tell their symptoms to more than one person," San Miguel says. "It seems like we’re quite unorganized and not communicating with each other, but in reality, we just know that the patients themselves are the best source of information about their own symptoms.”

As the physician, San Miguel always reads the notes that come from the initial intake, “but I want to confirm the details directly with you.”

While you will receive some care on the spot, most of your treatment will take place elsewhere, Cassel adds.

“With the exception of putting in stitches to fix a cut, the emergency department is not in and of itself a definitive care spot. Definitive care takes place outside of the ED,” he says.

This means that once the care team determines what’s going on and what care you need, you’ll either be admitted to the hospital for more intensive treatment or sent home with care instructions and a plan for additional follow-up if necessary.

For example, if you are having a heart attack , you’ll be admitted to an inpatient unit in the hospital for more testing and stabilization. If you’ve come in for an earache, you’ll probably be given a prescription and sent home. You'll then use those medications and recover with instructions to follow up with your primary care provider as soon as they can see you.

Lee underscores that “emergency and urgent care is not complete care. It is an acute intervention that addresses specific issues that often require further attention in the ambulatory office setting.”

Lastly, remember that the providers you’re working with are doing their best to look after you in a timely, helpful fashion. The ER staff understand you have been waiting, but they have no control over how many patients show up at once. If a surge of patients show up in an hour, the ER doesn't have the ability to suddenly bring on more staff. This happens more frequently than people realize.

Cassell says that the people who staff the emergency department are there “because we love it. We are task-focused, and we’re often very busy going from place to place, but we really do care.”

Keep in mind that the ER is not generally a calm place and the patient experience will be different from what you might get if you’re admitted in the hospital.

What to Pack in Your Hospital Bag

Senior woman packing her luggage in bedroom.

The U.S. News Health team delivers accurate information about health, nutrition and fitness, as well as in-depth medical condition guides. All of our stories rely on multiple, independent sources and experts in the field, such as medical doctors and licensed nutritionists. To learn more about how we keep our content accurate and trustworthy, read our editorial guidelines .

Amin is chief medical officer of L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the U.S.

Cassell is patient care administrator, emergency services, with Orlando Health in Florida.

Lee is medical director of the Emergency Care Center at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California.

San Miguel is clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

Tags: health , patients , patient advice , hospitals

Most Popular

Patient Advice

health disclaimer »

Disclaimer and a note about your health ».

Your Health

A guide to nutrition and wellness from the health team at U.S. News & World Report.

Does Medicare Cover Ozempic?

Paul Wynn May 2, 2024

Is Mifepristone Safe?

Payton Sy May 1, 2024

Health Screening Tests Women Should Have

Angela Haupt and Gretel Schueller May 1, 2024

Doctors That Women Should See

Vanessa Caceres and Gretel Schueller May 1, 2024

How to Find the Best OB-GYN for You

Elaine K. Howley and Gretel Schueller May 1, 2024

Early Miscarriage Symptoms

Claire Wolters April 30, 2024

11 Tips for Your First Mammogram

Elaine K. Howley April 29, 2024

Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, Osteopenia

Payton Sy April 29, 2024

Key Medicare Enrollment Deadlines

Joanne Kaldy and Vanessa Caceres April 26, 2024

10 Most Common Reasons for an ER Visit

Share Content on Facebook
Share Content on LinkedIn
Share Content on Flipboard
Share Content on Reddit
Share Content via Email

When you think about emergency rooms , the dramatic, gurney-rolling scenes from TV and movies might flood your mind. But the truth is these portrayals overlook much of what typical ERs deal with regularly. Emergency services provide expert care to save lives, but they're also places people seek treatment for mysterious symptoms or when most doctors' offices are closed.

As we'll discuss, a few common reasons people venture to the emergency room might surprise you. Some reveal a bizarre side of the profession, while others represent the majority of cases seen in departments.

Because ER care varies worldwide, we'll focus more on cases in the United States. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logged approximately 124 million visits to the ER, with only 42 million of those being injury-related [source: CDC ].

Although you might not associate some reasons on the list with visiting the ER, it's important to keep in mind the causes for illness and how people react to it differs greatly. If you believe you're experiencing a medical emergency , don't be afraid to call 911 and talk to an expert if you don't know what to do or need help. People can be taken to the ER by ambulances with paramedics or, in non-life-threatening cases, a friend or family member can drive the patient to the hospital.

So what are 10 common reasons to make a trip to the ER?

First, we'll look at a condition that typifies perceptions of emergency rooms. Read more on the following page.

Chest Pains
Abdominal Pain
Sprains and Broken Bones
Upper Respiratory Infections
Cuts and Contusions
Skin Infections
Foreign Objects in the Body

10: Chest Pains

We're all familiar with depictions of heart patients in the ER. In classic cases, trained emergency personnel will pick up defibrillators to jumpstart or regulate the patient's heartbeat. "Clear!" Bzzzzz!

Emergency room experts know how to deal with dire cardiac situations, but even more common than heart attacks are chest pains , which might be precursors or signs of other health problems.

Though chest pains are still common in ERs, some reports suggest they're declining while other conditions such as stomach pains are on the rise [source: Brophy Marcus ].

Still, doctors want patients to be aware of other signs that might indicate a situation is life-threatening. "Pressure-like" or "burning" chest pain coinciding with nausea , sweating or shortness of breath may signify a dangerous situation requiring emergency medical attention [source: Howell].

Chest pains should be examined particularly if the patient has a history of other medical conditions such as diabetes or coronary heart disease. In the United States, heart disease , which may result in emergency cardiac situations, is the leading cause of death, with more than a half a million people dying each year from heart complications [source: CDC ].

Still, chest pains are by no means a death sentence. Although it's better to err on the safe side by visiting the ER, many chest pain cases result from temporary discomfort associated with gastrointestinal flare-ups [source: Mayo Clinic Staff ].

The next reason to visit the ER has increased in recent years. Keep reading to see if you or someone you know has required emergency care for this condition.

Triage is a system of prioritizing patients when they enter the ER, regardless of who got there first. Patients who need medical attention the most are those usually rushed in by ambulances and paramedics. They are at the top of the list to receive treatment. For people driving themselves or being brought by someone else, a nurse will ask a series of questions and take their vitals to determine how soon they need treatment. Although the system might seem unfair for patients waiting in discomfort or pain, prioritizing care through triage saves lives and helps emergency experts do their jobs as efficiently as possible [source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ].

9: Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain is an increasingly common reason to make a trip to the ER [source: Brophy Marcus ]. Usually extending beyond normal indigestion , abdominal pain can result from a slew of health complications including food poisoning , kidney stones, or more serious medical conditions or illnesses.

According to one government survey from 2007, abdominal pain was one of the leading reasons people visited emergency rooms [source: Niska et al. ]. Before moving forward to treat patients with abdominal pain, doctors will try to find out if the pain stems from a health problem directly related to the digestive system or if it's a sign of problems in other areas of the body.

Poisoning is likely to contribute to abdominal pain cases as well, as it sends approximately 1,940 people to emergency departments each day in the United States [source: CDC ]. Bacterial and viral infections, as well as organs not functioning properly, can give rise to abdominal pain, too.

People should seek emergency treatment if they're experiencing continual nausea or uncontrolled vomiting, experts say [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation].

Up next: This mouth pain frequently sends people to the ER.

8: Toothaches

Tooth-related issues might not come to mind when you think about the ER, but they're surely presented to ER doctors [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation]. Toothaches remain a common reason to pursue emergency treatment, especially at times when dentist offices are closed after-hours or during the weekends.

Often, patients come in with abscesses , or areas filled with pus, within teeth or in surrounding gum tissue. In situations in which the abscess can be reached, ER doctors will drain it and prescribe pain medications. For pain within teeth resulting from gradual tooth decay or sudden trauma to the tooth, doctors will be limited to giving medications to alleviate pain until patients can make it to the dentist.

Depending on the cost differences, urgent care might be a better option than emergency care. Urgent care centers are often open later than doctors' offices to treat non-life-threatening medical problems and are generally less expensive than a trip to the ER [source: Preidt].

Sprains and broken bones make emergency room appearances as well. Read more on the next page.

While experts in emergency medicine are highly specialized to provide emergency care in different areas ranging from pediatrics to cardiology, your treatment might rely on being referred to another health specialist. For toothaches, for example, ER specialists can help you get your tooth pain under control temporarily, but it's likely you'll still need to be referred back to your dentist to receive the treatment needed to address the problem.

7: Sprains and Broken Bones

Sprains and broken bones can happen to anyone, regardless of health or age.

Sprains occur when ligaments attached to joints in the body are pushed to their limit or outright torn. Sometimes they happen alongside broken bones and can be caused by twisting an area of the body during movement or physical activity.

But not all sprains require ER care. Most can be deferred to urgent care, where doctors are equally equipped to treat patients and have imaging tools such as X-ray machines to rule out broken or fractured bones.

Broken bones, on the other hand, are more likely to require emergency care, especially if they pose risks to other systems in the body. For instance, a broken rib caused by a car wreck has the potential to puncture vital organs in the chest, whereas a broken toe might not pose such a risk and is a case more suitable for urgent care.

If you're experiencing consistent pain after receiving treatment for sprains or broken bones, it might be a good idea to receive urgent or emergency care to figure out why the area isn't healing properly.

Can the common cold bring people to the emergency room? Doctors see more of these cases than you'd expect. Find out more by clicking over to the next page.

6: Upper Respiratory Infections

Infections as regular as the common cold can send people to the ER, too. Upper respiratory infections caused by viruses, including those responsible for the common cold and flu , are fairly widespread among emergency rooms.

Like most illnesses, upper respiratory infections may call for emergency care if symptoms are severe enough in a patient. For example, someone with the flu who is experiencing frequent vomiting might consider heading to the ER. Other symptoms such as fainting, continual diarrhea, changes in vision, and chest or abdominal pressure are ER-worthy, doctors say [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation].

With that in mind, it's also true that most cases can be handled through urgent care, where trained professionals can provide expert treatment as well. To lessen the strain on emergency rooms, consider making it to an urgent care facility or see your primary physician before heading to the ER.

Our upcoming reason to visit the ER usually involves sharp objects. Read on to learn more.

Emergencies come unexpected, and experts say it's important to know details about your health. Carrying a small list in your wallet that documents your allergies, current medications and immunization history makes it easier to receive treatment in the event you cannot speak for yourself in an emergency [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation].

5: Cuts and Contusions

Cuts are as common to Hollywood ERs as they are to real life ones.

But reality deviates from movies when we examine the cause for most cuts. In films, the cut patients often end up in the ER because of violence, but that's not always the case in actual emergency rooms.

In fact, most cuts are unintentional and result from an accident with a knife or glass. Overall, the need for emergency care depends on the depth of the cut, whether it hit bone, the amount of bleeding , and whether there is any debris in the cut area [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation]. Smaller cuts with controllable bleeding can be addressed at urgent care.

Contusions -- bruises -- and head trauma are also up there in common reasons to visit the ER. In 2009, cuts, broken bones, contusions and trauma injuries sustained in nonfatal motor vehicle crashes sent more than 2.3 million adults to U.S. emergency rooms [source: Beck ].

The next common reason for making a trip to the hospital's emergency room relates to an area we might take for granted. Think you've experienced it? Check the next page to find out.

4: Back Pain

Believe it or not, back pain is an increasingly common case in the ER.

Even though some instances of back pain involve gradual soreness, an accident or faulty movement might push someone to strain a back muscle or even harm one of the many bones comprising the spinal column.

In 2008, back pain earned its spot as the No. 1 reason for patients to visit the ER, doctor or other health clinics [source: Owens et al .]. In the majority of instances, a condition called spondylosis , or the degeneration of cervical or lumbar discs, contributes to patients' pain.

According to health experts, back pain may be caused by daily activities, lifting or twisting the area the wrong way, or a lack of muscles to strengthen the back [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation]. On the other hand, such pain may signify another health problem such as kidney stones , arthritis or a herniated disc. This is why back pain in older individuals is worth investigating if it's not already chronic.

Skin protects us from the outside world and elements. Unfortunately, it can also bear the brunt of harmful things we encounter. Head over to the next page for more details.

Although it's important to get immediate treatment when an adult or child needs it, there might be other instances in which being seen by a doctor can wait until the next day or two. Clinics and health insurance companies have special hotlines to call -- even at unusual hours -- to talk to someone about whether an injury warrants a visit to the ER.

3: Skin Infections

Skin's role defending our bodies is compromised when there's a hole in the system -- a chink in the armor, you can say. Pus-filled abscesses and other skin infections can create abnormal reactions in the body that are both painful and bring on other symptoms. Skin infections also open up the body to microbes normally blocked by skin itself or the immune system.

Fortunately, ER doctors can drain abscesses and investigate skin problems, prescribing medications to battle infection and pain. Some infections that move rapidly or are resistant to antibiotics require speedy treatment, while others may not. One superbug bacterium, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is increasingly common in emergency rooms [source: Champeau ].

On the next page, we'll examine the more bizarre side of emergency rooms: when medical experts find objects in unexpected places.

Though fevers pose health risks for adults, they can be even more dangerous for children if left untreated. But only certain circumstances warrant taking a child to the pediatric ER for fever. If your child is 8 weeks or younger and has a rectal temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher, it's time to head to the doctor [source: MedlinePlus ]. For children between 3 and 36 months, the threshold is 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). Duration of fever matters too, with cases lasting longer than one to two days requiring immediate attention as well.

2: Foreign Objects in the Body

ERs around the world aren't spared from bizarre cases in which patients end up with foreign objects such as coins inside their bodies.

Though there's little data on how often doctors encounter foreign objects, we're more likely to hear about them. The outlook for the patient depends on the object and whether it can be removed or passed. According to one medical source, small objects passing through the upper intestinal tract have a 90 percent chance of moving through, while those larger than 2 centimeters (about .78 inches) in diameter have a smaller chance [source: Munter ]. Another analysis shows that roughly 1,500 deaths per year result in foreign object complications [source: Chen and Beierle ].

In some cases, patients may also come in with a food item or foreign objects stuck in their esophagus as a result of choking [source: WebMD ].

And it's not unheard of for inmates or drug smugglers to try to hide objects in their body' cavities, either [source: Munter ]. Items can also be intentionally inserted into the body for sexual stimulation and can get stuck [source: Barone et al. ].

Our last reason patients visit the ER occurs in most people. Can you guess what it is?

1: Headaches

ER doctors see more headache cases than you'd expect.

While headaches usually don't require emergency attention, patients often find themselves in enough pain to show up at ERs. Cases include chronic migraines , which may require further testing with referred neurologists. Although rarely, headaches can be signs of more serious illness such as "meningitis, cerebral hemorrhaging or a brain tumor," according to emergency doctors [source: American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation].

The thing with headaches is they can coincide with patients feeling sick to their stomachs and vomiting, which can cause them to suspect having a more serious condition. Fortunately, ERs have special imaging equipment that can peer into patients' brains to see if there's anything unusual or worth investigating.

For more resources on emergency care and reasons people use it, check out the following page.

Depending on how a person's injury is prioritized -- with more life-threatening cases always receiving treatment first, anecdotal estimates for waits in the ER can range from minutes to 3.5 hours [source: Bowman]. Wait times are likely to increase in the future since ER visits are on the rise and emergency departments are declining [source: CDC ]. One analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that less than one-fifth of patients receive treatment within 15 minutes of arriving at the ER [source: CDC ].

Lots More Information

When to use the emergency room - adult

Whenever an illness or injury occurs, you need to decide how serious it is and how soon to get medical care. This will help you choose whether it is best to:

Call your health care provider
Go to an urgent care clinic
Go to an emergency department right away

It pays to think about the right place to go. Treatment in an emergency department can cost 2 to 3 times more than the same care in your provider's office. In addition, your health insurance may require you to pay a higher copayment for care in an emergency department. Think about this and the other issues listed below when deciding.

Signs of an Emergency

How quickly do you need care? If a person or unborn baby could die or be permanently disabled, it is an emergency.

Call 911 or the local emergency number to have the emergency team come to you right away if you cannot wait, such as for:

Stopped breathing
Head injury with passing out, fainting, or confusion
Injury to neck or spine, particularly if there is loss of feeling or inability to move
Electric shock or lightning strike
Severe burn
Severe chest pain or pressure
Seizure that lasted more than 1 minute or from which the person does not rapidly awaken

Go to an emergency department or call 911 or the local emergency number for help for problems such as:

Trouble breathing
Passing out, fainting
Pain in the arm or jaw
Unusual or bad headache, particularly if it started suddenly
Suddenly not able to speak, see, walk, or move
Suddenly weak or drooping on one side of the body
Dizziness or weakness that does not go away
Inhaled smoke or poisonous fumes
Sudden confusion
Heavy bleeding
Possible broken bone, loss of movement, particularly if the bone is pushing through the skin
Serious burn
Coughing or throwing up blood
Severe pain anywhere on the body
Severe allergic reaction with trouble breathing, swelling, hives
High fever with headache and stiff neck
High fever that does not get better with medicine
Throwing up or loose stools that does not stop
Poisoning or overdose of drug or alcohol

If you are thinking about hurting yourself or others, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org . You can also call 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK). The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential support 24/7, anytime day or night.

You can also call 911 or the local emergency number or go to the hospital emergency room. DO NOT delay.

If someone you know has attempted suicide, call 911 or the local emergency number right away. DO NOT leave the person alone, even after you have called for help.

When to go to an Urgent Care Clinic

When you have a problem, do not wait too long to get medical care. If your problem is not life threatening or risking disability, but you are concerned and you cannot see your provider soon enough, go to an urgent care clinic.

The kinds of problems an urgent care clinic can deal with include:

Common mild illnesses, such as colds, the flu, earaches, sore throats, migraines, low-grade fevers, and limited rashes
Minor injuries, such as sprains, back pain, minor cuts and burns, minor broken bones, or minor eye injuries

If you are not Sure, Talk to Someone

If you are not sure what to do, and you don't have one of the serious conditions listed above, call your provider. If the office is not open, your phone call may be forwarded to someone. Describe your symptoms to the provider who answers your call, and find out what you should do.

Your provider or health insurance company may also offer a nurse telephone advice hotline. Call this number and tell the nurse your symptoms for advice on what to do.

Prepare now

Before you have a medical problem, learn what your choices are. Check the website of your health insurance company. Put these telephone numbers in the memory of your phone:

Your provider
The closest emergency department
Nurse telephone advice line
Urgent care clinic
Walk-in clinic

American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine website. What is urgent care medicine. aaucm.org/what-is-urgent-care-medicine/ . Accessed July 25, 2022.

American College of Emergency Physicians website. Emergency care, urgent care - what's the difference? www.acep.org/globalassets/sites/acep/media/advocacy/value-of-em/urgent-emergent-care.pdf . Updated April 2007. Accessed July 25, 2022.

Findlay S. When you should go to an urgent care or walk-in health clinic: knowing your options in advance can help you get the right care and save money. www.consumerreports.org/health-clinics/urgent-care-or-walk-in-health-clinic . Updated May 4, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2022.

Review Date 7/25/2022

Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

The dos and don'ts of going to the ER

Ers across the country are filling up in a return to the pre-pandemic norm. before you see a doctor at the emergency room or call 911, read these tips from dr. michael daignault,..

During this past winter's COVID-19 surge, fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant, a lot of front-line and customer-facing industries were impacted by widespread infections.

Local emergency medical service systems were hit especially hard. Communities were told to call 911 only for “true-life- or limb-threatening emergencies.” But this gave those of us who work in the EMS and the emergency room a pause. We thought: “Isn’t this the way the 911 system is supposed to be used?”

ERs across the country are seeing a rapid return to pre-pandemic volume. My ER in Burbank, California, has had some 200-plus patient days recently.

More: Which supplements are most likely to land you in the ER?

As we head deeper into spring and then summer – traditionally the busiest time for ERs – and in the context of reiterating the importance of using your local ER appropriately, I wanted to present some practical "dos and don'ts."

Do not "wait it out." If you have dangerous cardiac symptoms like chest pain or stroke-like symptoms including severe headache, dizziness, weakness to one side of your body, facial droop, or slurred speech. These symptoms could signify a heart attack or stroke – life-threatening conditions that are time-dependent. If not identified and treated within a matter of hours, the damaged part of your heart or brain could be unsalvageable

A study from spring 2020 surveyed nine major hospital systems and found the number of severe heart attacks being treated in the U.S. had plummeted by approximately 40%. Patients were either afraid of going to the ER because of fear of COVID-19 or were unable to access their primary care doctors or specialists. Early treatment with clot-buster medications or a trip to the catheterization laboratory is critical. As we say in the ER, “Time is heart (and brain).”

Read next: Are you at risk for a heart attack during your workout?

Do bring a list of your doctors, known medical problems and prescriptions, including your dosage and any recent changes. Do not assume such critical information is “in the computer.” Even though all hospitals use electronic medical records, they’re often not integrated. It’s extremely difficult and time-consuming for us to call other hospitals or pharmacies for this information. Time that would be better served attending to your emergency!

Also, if you were referred by a doctor’s office or urgent care center for an “abnormal” lab value or image, please bring the report and CD of the image with you.

People swear by apple cider vinegar for weight loss: Does it actually work?

Do not assume you’ll be able to jump the line if you come by ambulance. It won’t work. And it’s a misuse of the EMS system. As with all visitors to the ER – whether you walk in or come by ambulance – you’ll be quickly evaluated by a triage nurse who will determine whether you need to be seen immediately by a doctor based on an assessment of your “chief complaint” and vital signs. If you’re assessed to be “stable” and asked to wait in the waiting room, this is a good thing! It means you likely do not have a life- or limb-threatening emergency. Please be patient.

Do focus on the reason that brings you to the ER. As much as we’d love to help you out with multiple concerns, we simply don’t have the time, staff, or resources. Please don’t be upset if your doctor asks you “What's the main reason you came to the ER today?” Or “What’s bothering you the most?” We can always refer you back to your primary doctor or a clinic to assess most chronic medical concerns.

Do not call and ask “What’s the wait time in the ER right now?” We are not a restaurant. We have a rule: If you have to ask the wait time, you probably don’t have an emergency. Post-pandemic wait times are up to multiple hours at ERs across the country. Your time may be better spent at urgent care or use the telehealth function most insurance companies offer now. You can speak to a nurse about your medical complaint, and they can direct you appropriately.

Do bring your own charger for your phone/tablet/laptop. We don’t have extras. Also, most places do have free Wi-Fi but it can be spotty. Better yet, bring a book or magazine.

And finally, please do ask your doctor to go over your discharge plan. This is perhaps the most crucial aspect of the entire ER visit. Ask for a copy and review your lab and imaging results. And please follow up with your primary doctor or specialist. If the doctor recommends you follow up, there’s probably a really good reason.

More: Why Epsom salt should be a staple in your home medicine cabinet

Everyone is talking about biotin: Here's what you need to know.

University of Utah Hospital

General questions.

Billing & Insurance

You are listening to Health Library :

Top 5 Reasons for ER Visits

Emergency physician Dr. Troy Madsen breaks down the numbers on the five most common reasons people go to an ER. He talks about when to visit the emergency room versus when to visit urgent care or your primary care physician. He also advises to err on the side of caution when it comes to certain pains in the body.

Episode Transcript

Interviewer: Top five reasons people might end up in the ER. Think about what you think they might be, and you'll find out next on The Scope.

Intro: Medical news and research from the University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: One of the top five reasons people come in the ER. We're with Dr. Troy Madsen, University of Utah Hospital Emergency Room Physician. Let's go over the top five reasons somebody might end up in the ER. Number five.

Dr. Troy Madsen: This is based on actual research we've done. So we looked at patients who come into the Emergency Department, and we try to quantify why did they actually come in. The number five reason on that list was back pain, and oftentimes this was an acute back injury. Maybe they twisted their back or just stood up wrong or something happened. Or sometimes it's chronic back pain. It's pain they've had for years, and they come into the ER for this.

Interviewer: Let me ask you one question further. Is that a reason to go to the ER? Should you go to urgent care?

Dr. Troy Madsen: It is a reason to go to urgent care. The reason to come to the ER is if you're having any bladder or bowel something, like, where you just cannot urinate or you can't hold it, like, you just urinate on yourself because then we actually worry more about spinal cord compression.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Troy Madsen: The other reason to go to the ER is if you've had an injury to the back, like, direct trauma to the back, something that could cause a fracture.

Interviewer: All right.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Again, another reason to go to the ER.

Interviewer: But just a pain or an ache?

Dr. Troy Madsen: Yeah. Just aches and pains, especially these chronic aches and pains. It's probably a better reason to see your primary care doctor.

Interviewer: All right. Number four. Reasons people might end up in the ER.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Number four reason is coughing and congestion. A lot of upper respiratory symptoms. So they just got a cold. They're just feeling kind of miserable. Maybe they have a fever along with this, but this is a very common thing we see in the Emergency Department.

Interviewer: Just the kind of coughing that doesn't stop? I could never imagine going just because I'm coughing.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Yeah. And one thing you're going to find as we go through this list, you'll find a lot of things here that maybe you could not imagine going to the ER for. But when I think I started working in the ER, that was the biggest thing that surprised me. It was a lot of the kind of more minor things that we see on a regular basis, but, you know, I think people get very concerned. They may just have really, quite honestly, just a cold. But for whatever reason, they're concerned that something more serious may be going on.

Interviewer: Again, coughing. Is that a reason to go to the ER or is it more of an urgent care situation?

Dr. Troy Madsen: That's a great thing to go to an urgent care for or see your primary care doctor.

Dr. Troy Madsen: The exception being is if you have underlying immune system disorders or if you're on chemotherapy, anything there where you have a fever is going to be more concerning and is a reason to go to the ER.

Interviewer: Or you just can't breathe.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Exactly. Yeah.

Dr. Troy Madsen: If you're just not breathing, your lungs are really tight with asthma or something like that.

Interviewer: Top five reasons people come into the ER. Number three.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Number three is chest pain. We see a lot of chest pain, and this is definitely something to come to the ER for. This is something that's very concerning, especially in older adults. Once people start to get into their 50's or even older, and especially if you have risk factors for heart disease. If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, any family history of heart attacks, it's absolutely a reason to come to the ER, and it's one of the more common things we see.

Interviewer: Number two.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Number two is trauma and orthopedic injuries. We certainly see a lot of people after car accidents, people who were brought in by the ambulance and then people who walk in themselves either were seen at the scene of an accident and released by the ambulance but drove themselves in for some pain. Or people who have traumatic injuries from falls, from orthopedic injuries such as twisting their knee, hurting their legs, you know. So here we're talking about a full spectrum of traumatic injuries, you know, very serious. The things that, you know, maybe are kind of more sprains or strains. Things like that.

Interviewer: Is there a way that a patient could make the determination whether, again, they should go to urgent care or the ER for something like that?

Dr. Troy Madsen: You know, my general rule of thumb is, "If it's something that's from a car accident, and it involves your spine, your chest, or your abdomen, these are things to go to the ER for. If it's something where you've twisted your knee but you can put some weight on it, and even if you're having some trouble putting some weight on it, still, it's a great thing to go to an urgent care for."

Interviewer: All right. Top five reasons people come into the ER. Number two.

Dr. Troy Madsen: It works up to number one.

Interviewer: Oh. Top five reasons people come into the ER. Number one.

Dr. Troy Madsen: Number one. The top reason we see people and the most patients we see are abdominal pains, surprisingly. It's up to maybe about 25 percent of patients we see are there because their stomach hurts. They may have had some nausea, some vomiting, maybe some diarrhea, maybe just some cramping, or maybe it's something more serious like an appendicitis or cholecystitis, which is their gall bladder being infected. So we see kind of a full spectrum of things there as well, but that is the number one thing we see in the Emergency Department.

Interviewer: And the same question, how do I know if it's maybe just an urgent care or primary care physician issue versus coming into the emergency room?

Dr. Troy Madsen: Yeah, and this is always kind of a tough one, but I often, you know, think of the more serious concerns in the abdomen being on the right side. So the right lower side is your appendix. The right upper side is your gall bladder. If you're a lot of pain in those places, if you push in there and it hurts, and even more concerning if when you release, it hurts even worse, those are signs that you should probably go to the ER. But, again, there are things where they could probably see you in urgent care, or if your doctor could get you in that same day, they can probably see you and evaluate you.

Interviewer: Is there some place you could call before you maybe make that call if you're on the fence?

Dr. Troy Madsen: Usually, calling your doctor's office might be helpful. Sometimes it's a little tough because you're probably not talking to your doctor. You're probably just talking to someone answering the phones. So it's a little bit tough, but see what you can do there.

Interviewer: All right. So just use your best judgment?

Dr. Troy Madsen: Yes. Use your best judgment. If you're concerned, come into the ER. And I think the biggest take-home point from this list is if you come into the ER and you think it's not that serious, trust me, there have been people there with much less serious things than what you have. So err on the side of caution, and don't feel ashamed if you need to come to the ER.

Outro: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope, the University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

More Episodes

The Misconception of "Preventative" Chemotherapy
Holistic Hot Flush Relief: Acupuncture and MENOGAP Explained
Strength Training in Later Years: A Guide to Getting Started
Advanced Epilepsy Diagnosis: The Role of Long-Term Monitoring
How to Identify and Diagnose Adult ADHD
Understanding Erectile Dysfunction
The Sounds of Your Joints: What's Normal and What's Not?
Kids Aren't the Only Ones with ADHD: Understanding the Increase in Adult Diagnosis
How to Keep Joints Healthy as We Age
Finding the "Just Right" Non-hormonal Prescription Therapy for Your Menopause Symptoms

Graham King, M.D.

Family medicine, prenatal care, primary care, recent posts.

Behavioral Health
Children's Health (Pediatrics)
Exercise and Fitness
Heart Health
Men's Health
Neurosurgery
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Orthopedic Health
Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery
Women's Health

Emergency vs. Urgent Care: What's the difference?

Emergency Medicine

It's Saturday morning and your child fell while playing in the backyard. He can't put any weight on his rapidly swelling ankle, and he is sweating and crying in pain. Should you head to the Emergency Department or Urgent Care?

If you have been in a similar situation and wondered which option is better, you are not alone. Although Mayo Clinic Health System has offered Urgent Care for more than 20 years, many people are confused about when to use it.

Here are a few differences between Emergency Departments and Urgent Care clinics:

Severity of health problems.

An Emergency Department treats life- or limb-threatening health conditions in people of all ages. It is the best option when you require immediate medical attention.

Urgent Care is the middle ground between your primary care provider and the Emergency Department. If you have a minor illness or injury that can't wait until tomorrow, Urgent Care is the way to go. Also, it is a good option if you have illnesses or injuries without other symptoms, or if you do not have other underlying health conditions. For example, an earache can easily be treated in Urgent Care. However, if it is accompanied by a high fever (104 F or higher), or you have a history of cancer or are on immune-suppressing medication, it is important to have it checked out in the Emergency Department.

Hours and staff

Emergency Departments are staffed 24/7 with physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses trained in delivering emergency care. The team has quick access to expert providers in advanced specialties such as Cardiology, Neurology and Orthopedics. Emergency Departments also have the imaging and laboratory resources needed to diagnose and deliver care for severe and life-threatening situations.

Typically, Urgent Care clinics are staffed with physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses. Although, some Urgent Care clinics have physicians on staff as well. Urgent Care providers can order basic labs and imaging tests, such as X-rays, to help them provide diagnoses and develop treatment plans. Urgent Care clinics have set hours and an established list of conditions treated. As a result, Urgent Care clinics often are less expensive and have shorter wait times than Emergency Departments.

Here are examples of types of conditions treated in Urgent Care clinics and Emergency Departments:

Urgent care clinic:.

Back or muscle pain
Cuts and minor burns
Skin conditions
Sprains or joint pain
Upper respiratory infection
Urinary tract infections

Emergency Department:

Chest pain or pressure
Compound fracture (bone that protrudes through the skin)
Head injuries
Severe abdominal pain
Shortness of breath
Sudden, severe headache, or paralysis or weakness
Uncontrolled bleeding

Always call 911 and don't drive yourself to the Emergency Department if you are having difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, a life or limb injury, or signs of stroke or heart attack.

Learn about your options for same-day care .

Graham King, M.D. , is a Family Medicine physician in Mankato , Minnesota.

Urgent care vs emergency room: What's the difference?

It’s Saturday, and the cold you’ve been nursing for the past few days seems to be getting worse. You’ve vomited once and have a fever. Should you head to a hospital emergency room or an urgent care clinic?

Learn more about our urgent care Learn more about our ER

If you’ve ever wondered whether to go to an ER or an urgent care clinic, you’re not alone. As physicians, we’re often asked by family, friends and patients if their symptoms warrant an ER visit, a trip to an urgent care clinic, a call to their primary care doctor or simply management at home.

If you are experiencing mild symptoms , such as mild aches and pains, a mild cough, etc., that could be caused by the flu, COVID-19, RSV or hundreds of other viruses, consider “doing what your mom used to tell you” — rest, drink plenty of fluids, take over-the-counter medications like Tylenol, if needed, and monitor your symptoms.

If your symptoms don't improve over time, or if they worsen, calling your primary care physician may be beneficial. Many primary care physicians are now offering virtual visits and can assess patients by a phone or video call fairly quickly.

However, if your symptoms are more severe and can’t wait for an appointment with your doctor, consider your other options for care.

Urgent Care

Unless a condition is life-threatening, a trip to urgent care is generally a better use of a patient’s time and resources to treat injuries, fevers, infections and other ailments.

Urgent care centers often have far shorter wait times than the ER and cost less than a traditional hospital emergency room visit. And many, like our UChicago Medicine Dearborn Station , UChicago Medicine Medical Group - Homewood and UChicago Medicine River East urgent care centers, offer convenient benefits such as walk-in appointments and on-site x-ray.

There are a variety of conditions treated at our urgent care centers , but common reasons to visit one include:

If you are experiencing mild to moderate cold symptoms and not sure whether it is flu, COVID-19 or RSV.
If you have a sore throat and are concerned it is viral or strep throat.
If your virus or cold symptoms developed into infections, like ear infections or pneumonia, and may require antibiotics.

Our urgent care clinics have board-certified physicians on staff who can test for and treat these conditions and much more. We treat both adult and pediatric patients and are available 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

If necessary, urgent care providers can also connect you with a higher level of care.

Emergency Room

You should call 911 or come right to the emergency room if you’re systemically sick. That’s when an illness affects your entire body, and you have severe pain or sudden onset of severe symptoms, a fever that won’t break, or “something doesn’t work,” like you’re unable to move an arm or leg or breathe normally. This includes:

If a person has a severe injury or allergic reaction.
If they pass out or experience any signs of a possible stroke or signs of a heart attack.

While you or the victim may have a hospital of choice, an emergency may warrant going to the nearest emergency location for immediate treatment. With their connection to hospitals for seamless admittance and advanced level of technology, ERs are the best place for actual emergencies.

Should you call 911 or go to the hospital emergency room?

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has useful guidance on when to call 911, but common reasons include:

The condition is life-threatening and requires attention as soon as possible.
You are unable to move yourself or the victim without causing harm or further damage.
You are physically or emotionally unable to drive or be transported to a hospital ER.

Urgent Aid for Lower-Level Emergencies

If you’re in the Southland, UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial offers an additional option to consider before heading to the ER. In our south suburban urgent aid centers , physicians provide ER-level care for lower-level emergencies — injuries, viruses and other illnesses — 24 hours a day, every day in an urgent care-like setting.

If a stable patient needs higher-level imaging such as an ultrasound or CT scan, urgent aids may be a better fit than an urgent care clinic.

The cost of an urgent aid visit is the same as the emergency department of Ingalls Memorial for the same level of care. The co-pay for emergency services will apply to your urgent aid visit, which may be higher than the co-pay for services provided by urgent care centers that are not part of a hospital’s emergency department.

Anwar Isabell, MD, is a UChicago Medicine Medical Group provider. UChicago Medicine Medical Group is comprised of UCM Care Network Medical Group, Inc. and Primary Healthcare Associates, S.C. UChicago Medicine Medical Group providers are not employees or agents of The University of Chicago Medical Center, The University of Chicago, or UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial.

Anwar Isabell, MD

Board-certified family medicine physician, Anwar Isabell, MD, specializes in care for the whole family.

Daniel Bickley, MD

Daniel Bickley, MD is the Interim Medical Director of the Adult Emergency Department at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Where Should I Go for Care Today?

You never know when a sudden injury or illness may happen. That's why it's so important to be prepared and know what steps you can take as soon as symptoms appear. Click below to learn more about the best times to visit primary care, urgent care or the emergency department.

When should I contact my primary care doctor?

Your regular doctor is the best person to call for minor health issues because they know your medical history.

When should I go to urgent care?

When you need care right away, but the illness or injury isn’t considered life-threatening, visit an urgent care clinic.

When should I seek emergency care?

If you have severe symptoms that could be life-threatening, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away.

Emergency rooms fill up fast. Here are top 10 reasons why people head to hospital

It's something nobody wants to do.

No matter how sick you are, there's nothing worse than having to go to the emergency room. You are sitting with other sick people, it's expensive and you know unless you get lucky or you pick the perfect time to get medical attention, you're going to have to wait.

But why do most people go to the ER?

Kratom enthusiasts Be Happy Go Leafy broke down the numbers and came up with the top 10 reasons people visit the emergency room.

According to the release, 12,441,000 people go to the ER each year for stomach and abdominal issues. The second most common reason was chest pains and other related symptoms, with an estimated 7,811,000 visits per year. Ranking third was shortness of breath, sending about 5,918,000 visitors per year.

Top 10 reasons people go to the ER

1. stomach and abdominal pain, cramps, and spasms .

The most common reason for visits to the emergency department was issues relating to the stomach and abdomen, with an estimated 12,441,000 visits per year.

A range of medical conditions can cause pain, cramps, and spasms in the stomach and abdominal area. These include appendicitis, hernias, viral or bacterial infections, and digestive issues.

Issues relating to the stomach or abdominal area were the top reason for males and females under 15 years old, with 1,312,000 visits yearly. It was also the most common reason for males and females between the ages of 15 and 64, with 9,354,000 visits yearly. It was also the second most common reason for males and females 65 and over, with 1,774,000 visits per year.

2. Chest pain and related symptoms

The second most common reason for people to visit the emergency department was chest pain and related symptoms, with an estimated 7,811,000 visits per year.

There are many reasons why someone may experience chest pain and related symptoms. Causes can range from anxiety attacks to heart and lung conditions, including a heart attack or experiencing a blood clot in the lungs.

Chest pain and related symptoms were not common reasons for visits to the emergency department for males and females under the age of 15. It was the second most common reason for males and females aged between 15-64, with an estimated 5,957,000 visits to the emergency department per year.

For males and females over the age of 65, chest pain and related symptoms were the third most common reason, with an estimated 1,601,000 visits per year.

▶ National E. Coli breakout 2024 comes to New Jersey. Here's what to avoid

3. Shortness of breath

The third most common reason for visits to the emergency department was shortness of breath, with an estimated 5,918,000 visits per year.

The leading causes of shortness of breath are problems relating to the heart and lungs. Causes can include heart attacks, asthma, low blood pressure, pneumonia, and anxiety attacks.

For males and females aged 65 and over, shortness of breath was the most common reason for visits to the emergency department, with an estimated 2,153,000 visits.

Shortness of breath was the third most common reason for males aged between 15 and 64 and the fourth most common reason for females aged between 15 and 64, with an estimated 3,314,000 visits per year.

This symptom was an uncommon cause of visits to the emergency department for males and females under the age of 15, however.

Experiencing a cough was the fourth most common reason for people to visit the emergency department, with an estimated 4,655,000 visits annually.

Viruses such as the common cold and flu are the most common reason for a cough. A cough can also be caused by more severe issues such as asthma, COPD, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

A cough was the most common reason for visits to the emergency department by males and females under the age of 15, with an estimated 2,354,000 visits per year. It was the eighth most common reason for males and females between the ages of 15-64, with an estimated 1,923,000 visits. A cough was not a common reason for those over 65.

▶ Rutgers students make significant finding in Alzheimer's disease

The fifth most common reason for people to visit the emergency department was for a fever, with an estimated 4,650,000 visits per year.

A body temperature of 100.4F or above classifies as a fever, which is often caused by viral or bacterial infections, heat exhaustion, or certain inflammatory conditions.

Fevers were only a common reason for emergency department visits for males and females under the age of 15. It was the most common reason, with an estimated 3,402,000 visits per year.

6. Headache, pain in the head

The sixth most common reason people visited the emergency department was for a headache or other pain in the head, with an estimated 3,893,000 visits per year.

Causes of a headache may include stress, dehydration, muscular tension, dental or jaw problems, and eyesight problems.

It was the third most common reason for females between the ages of 15 and 64 and the seventh most common reason for males in the same age range, with an estimated 2,932,000 visits per year. It was only the eighth most common reason for females aged 65 and over, with an estimated 384,000 visits. Headaches were not a common reason for males and females under 15 to visit the emergency department, however.

7. Pain, site not referable to specific body system

The seventh most common reason people visited the emergency department was for pain that is not referable to a specific body system, with an estimated 3,365,000 visits per year.

This can refer to any pain in the body that isn’t directly linked to any of the central body systems. These include skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive.

For females between the ages of 15 and 64, this type of pain was the seventh most common reason for visits, and for males aged 15 to 64, it was the fourth most common. The estimated visits for this age range were 2,715,000 per year. For males aged 65 and over, this type of pain was the tenth most common reason for visits to the emergency department, with an estimated 246,000 visits.

▶ His lips turned blue. His breathing stopped. But Barnegat woman saved her husband's life

8. Back symptoms

The eighth most common reason why people visited the emergency department was for back symptoms, with an estimated 3,050,000 visits per year.

Back symptoms refer to any pain or discomfort felt in the back area. This can include muscle aches, shooting or stabbing pain, or a burning sensation.

For males and females between the ages of 15 and 64, back symptoms were the sixth most common reason, with an estimated 2,249,000 visits annually. For females aged 65 and over, back symptoms were the fifth most common reason, and for males aged 65 and over, it was the sixth most common reason.

9. Vomiting

The ninth most common reason people visited the emergency department was vomiting, with an estimated 2,810,000 visits per year.

Causes of vomiting may include infections, pregnancy, food poisoning, reaction to medication, and overeating.

Vomiting was only a common reason for males and females under the age of 15, ranking as the fourth most common cause, with an estimated 1,212,000 visits per year.

10. Psychological and mental disorders

Rounding out the top ten are other symptoms or problems relating to psychological and mental disorders, with an estimated 2,429,000 visits per year.

This can include hallucinations, restlessness, delusions, panic attacks, and persistent feelings of sadness.

Symptoms and problems relating to psychological and mental disorders were only common in males between the ages of 15-64, with an estimated 993,000 visits, the fifth most common reason in this age range.

October 13, 2017
Mark Hooper

Why you Should Visit The Emergency Room?

Statistics show that over 130 million people visit Emergency Rooms in the U.S alone and the numbers are expected to rise even higher. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by 2020, the visits will surpass the 200 million mark which is a positive sign that more people are accessing medical care.

People visit emergency rooms for a number of reasons. From simple injuries to critical illnesses, emergency rooms are capable of handling a number of health complications. The high numbers have affected the cost of emergency room services which have become more affordable.

If you have not been using emergency rooms in America, here are 15 reasons why you should visit the emergency room;

Chest pains

Chest pains are indicative of serious underlying problems. A feeling of tightening in the chest or an acute chest pain can be indicative of a heart problem and should prompt you to visit the nearest emergency room. Treat chest pains with urgency and stay safe than sorry.

Cuts and bruises

Never overlook a cut or a bruise on your skin, however small it might seem. Wounds resulting from small cuts and bruises can lead to major infections like tetanus. It is imperative therefore to go to the nearest emergency room and get a tetanus immunization shot.

Skin rashes and infections

Skin rashes and abnormal reactions should prompt you to go to the ER as soon as you can. Skin rashes are indicative of allergies and infections to major internal organs like the liver. Such infections are very uncomfortable as well and the suffering is not worth it at all.

Concussions and trauma

Trauma and concussions from accidents account for very many visits to emergency rooms. Trauma and concussions need to be reported as soon as possible because of potential injuries to the brain and other major internal organs.

Difficulties breathing

Just like chest pains, difficulties breathing are indicative of serious problems. They may be indicative of respiratory problems, heart attacks and other serious complications that need immediate addressing.

Asthma attacks

It goes without saying that asthma attacks are capable of ending one’s life. They therefore should be treated with seriousness. The moment one starts experiencing difficulties breathing, the emergency room should be the next stop.

Painful toothaches will affect the quality of life one lives. If you are experiencing a painful toothache and you dentist is not accessible at that moment, look no further than the emergency room. You will be offered immediate treatment to calm the pain as you await your dentist to do something about the toothache.

Stomachaches

Stomachaches can be as a result of food poisoning, injuries to internal organs, prolonged period pains or even an allergic reaction to a certain food. Stomachaches should be reported to the emergency room as soon as possible because they are indicative of serious illnesses which can be fatal.

Diarrhea especially among small children should be reported urgently to the emergency room. Excessive diarrhea can lead to dehydration and potential death within 24 hours. It is therefore imperative to report the same as soon as possible for the best treatment.

Unexplained back pains should be a major worry and need to be reported as soon as possible. Such pains are most of the time ignored by most people because they think that the pains will subside in a few days. Back pains are a symptom associated with a lot of complications which left untreated can be fatal.

Severe headaches and throbbing migraines require medical attention as soon as possible. Headaches are invasive and will come in the way of normal life. To get them treated, visit the nearest emergency room and get full diagnosis and proper medication.

The above mentioned are just some of the medical reasons why you should rush to the nearest emergency. The following are reasons why the emergency room is the perfect place to report these medical emergencies and many others.

Why choose the emergency room

Quick hassle free treatment

In the emergency room, you will get quick and hassle-free treatment. The average waiting time in emergency rooms in America is down to about 15 minutes and you are therefore going to receive urgent care on time.

Quality care near you

The quality of services offered in emergency rooms in America is very high and your problem will be properly addressed. Even better is the fact that emergency rooms are very accessible and closer to you.

Affordable services

Unlike years ago when emergency room services were very expensive, emergency room services are affordable nowadays and more people can receive the care they need.

Here at Frontline Emergency Room in Richmond , TX, we offer high quality no wait emergency care services provided by board certified physicians and registered nurses. Day or night, we are always available to serve you and offer the care you need.

If you are in Richmond or Dallas and are looking for an emergency room, look no further than our way. For more information on our services, give us a call today and we will gladly be of service.

10 Practical Skills to Learn Before an Emergency

Personal health preparedness isn’t only about collecting supplies. Level up your emergency preparedness. Learn practical skills you can use to help yourself and others. Here

Kale: Discover the ‘secret powers’ of this superfood

TOPICS IN THIS POST Nutrition Get Healthy Recipes And Tips Although it may seem like it, kale isn’t a new vegetable. Thomas Jefferson experimented with

Cerebral Aneurysms

ON THIS PAGE What is a cerebral aneurysm? Who is more likely to get a cerebral aneurysm? How are cerebral aneurysms diagnosed and treated? What

Learn How To Control Asthma

On This Page What is Asthma? How Can You Tell if You Have Asthma? What Is an Asthma Attack? What Causes an Asthma Attack? How

Frontline ER - Dallas

7331 Gaston Avenue, Suite 180, Dallas, TX, 75214
214.499.9555
214.782.9532
[email protected]

Frontline ER - Houston

7051 FM 1464 RD, Richmond, TX 77407
281.766.3811
832.532.0920
[email protected]

Insurance Information

Charge Master

Skip to main content
Skip to header right navigation
Skip to site footer
Pricing Transparency

Beaumont Emergency Hospital

24-Hour Emergency Room - Beaumont, Texas

Ten Common ER Visits

Visiting the emergency room is not a pleasant experience for the vast majority of people. Between the long wait and the condition they are in, emergency room visits can be highly uncomfortable. Approximately 124 million people visit the ER each year, out of which 42 million of those people visit with injury-related problems. Today we’ll list the top 10 most common ER visits and what these symptoms could indicate.

10. Chest Pains

Chest pains are one of the most common reasons why people visit the ER. Cardiac arrest situations are common in the ER and although chest pain visits are declining in recent years, still nearly half a million people die each year due to heart complications.

9. Abdominal Pains

Around 2000 people visit the ER every single day due to abdominal pains. Most likely, bacterial and viral infections are the cause of abdominal pains. The culprit of abdominal pains can be a factor to several different diagnoses.

Food Poisoining/Allergies
Kidney Stones
Stomach Virus
Appendicitis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome

8. Toothaches

Most people will not relate tooth-related issues with the ER, but an increasing number of people are pursuing emergency treatments when dentist offices are closed. The majority of patients report abscesses, and gum tissues problems.

7. Broken Bones and Sprains

Broken bones and sprains are a common occurrence that can happen to any individual regardless of their age or condition. They can be caused due to accidents or twisting an area of the body while playing sports or other physical activities. Not all sprains require ER treatment although broken bones need to be looked at immediately, particularly if they pose a risk to other organs. Some key ways to determine if the injury needs medical attention are:

Discoloration
Visible bone

6. Upper Respiratory Infections

Infections and viruses are another common cause of people visiting the ER. The flu and common cold are fairly widespread diseases and unlike other illnesses, may require emergency treatment in severe cases.

5. Contusions and Cuts

Cuts and contusions are one of the most common reasons why people visit the ER. They can occur through any activity and often require urgent emergency attention. The majority of cuts and contusions are due to accidents with a glass or a knife and in case of severe bleeding, a trip to the ER becomes necessary.

4. Back Pain

Another increasing reason for visiting the ER is due to back related issues. Back pains or muscle strains in the back can be due to an accident or physical injuries while playing sports or by lifting heavy things. It was regarded as the number one reason for visiting the ER in the past, but the number has declined in recent years.

3. Skin Infections

Skin infections can cause abnormal reactions in the body and in the majority of cases they require urgent emergency care. A skin infection can also bring on other symptoms and can spread rapidly over the body in severe cases. Symptoms may include:

Nerve damage
Muscle weakness
Lesions on the body
Rashes and blisters

2. Foreign Objects in the Body

Emergency room centers all over the world report that one of the most common ER visits is due to foreign objects inside the body. There aren’t any stats regarding the number of doctors that have to deal with foreign objects but a recent analysis has shown that there are roughly 1,500 deaths per year due to foreign object problems.

1. Headaches

The number one and the most common ER visit is due to headaches. They are the most common ailments amongst people and it stands to reason that headaches are the most common reason for a person to visit the ER.

News and Events
Health Symptoms Index
Register Online

Top Reasons to Visit the ER Right Now!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Knowing when to go to the ER to seek medical care is often challenging, particularly this last year while we all learned to cope with COVID-19.

Yet, it’s important to keep ourselves healthy, which means addressing potentially serious health problems when they arise.

There are specific symptoms and conditions you should never ignore, as they could indicate serious health issues. Let’s learn about the top reasons to visit the ER to be prepared and seek help fast.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/lZAFNq1MZTU” title=”Baytown”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/wr7ou610NVk” title=”Lake Jackson”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/kebCai757KA” title=”Waxahachie”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]

These are the top reasons you should visit the ER Immediately

The first of the top reasons to visit the ER is chest pain. When we talk about chest pains, it could be several pain types, including sharp, dull, burning, or crushing. The pain is not limited to the area around your heart; it can extend from your neck to your abdomen.

Chest pain could be a sign of a serious or life-threatening health problem, such as a blood clot, heart attack, or even COVID-19.

Some chest pain results from benign or mild medical conditions such as heartburn and indigestion. Still, the best way to know for sure is to seek immediate medical attention for any chest pain that lasts for more than five minutes.

When it comes to chest pain, better safe than sorry is the right approach![/vc_column_text][us_image image=”23877″ size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Abdominal Pain

Just like chest pain, a variety of causes are responsible for your abdominal pain, the next of the top reasons to visit the ER. Many are mild and won’t require a visit to the ER. Still, others could potentially place your life in danger and will therefore require emergency medical care.

Causes of abdominal pain that will require ER treatment include:

Appendicitis (bust appendix)
Bowel obstruction
Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder)
Diverticulitis (inflammation or infection of pouches that can form in your intestines known as diverticula)
Kidney stones
Pancreatitis (inflammation in the pancreas)

Additionally, some potentially fatal conditions can cause abdominal pain. These cases require immediate diagnosis and treatment in the ER:

AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm)
Ectopic pregnancy (ruptured)
Ischemic bowel
Perforated bowel or stomach
Bleeding or ruptured stomach ulcers

Whenever you experience unexplained, severe abdominal pain, it’s best to come to the nearest Altus Emergency center to be examined by a professional.[/vc_column_text][us_image image=”23874″ size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Upper Respiratory Infections (URI)

Another common top reasons to visit the ER was highly prevalent during the pandemic, upper respieratory infections. Both bacteria and viruses can cause severe infections. However, the cause of most upper respiratory infections is viruses.

Viral infections like the common cold and the flu are familiar to all of us. Yet, we now face a more severe type of viral infection which is COVID-19 .

Regardless of the virus responsible for the infection, you will need to visit the ER if :

You are experiencing severe symptoms
You are part of a high-risk group

Signs of infectious diseases vary. However, most share these symptoms:

Trouble breathing
Nasal congestion and runny nose
Pain or pressure in the sinus area
Sore throat

Other less common symptoms include:

Loss of sense of smell (hyposmia)

You should come to the ER as soon as possible if you experience any of the following:

Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
Coughing blood
Loss of smell and taste
Fever or chills that don’t improve with treatment
Feeling confused or disoriented
Cough turns brassy or has a barking sound
Trouble swallowing
Symptoms last more than ten days or worsen after improving

[/vc_column_text][us_image image=”23879″ size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Broken Bones and Strains

Broken bones vary in severity and are a top reasons to visit the ER especially during spring and summer. Some injuries can wait until you can see a doctor. But if you notice the bone protrudes through the skin, or if the limb is severely misaligned or mangled by the trauma, you need to head to the nearest Altus Emergency Center.

If you are unsure whether you fractured a bone or not, the only way to know for sure is to get examined by a doctor.

In addition to the emergency symptoms mentioned before, these symptoms will let you know if you need to visit the ER:

Severe pain
Bruising or swelling at the site of injury

Muscle strains can happen when at any time. When you are at work, exercising, playing sports, or doing chores around the house.

Torn muscles can cause severe discomfort. Without proper treatment, you run the risk of living with chronic pain and weakness in the injured area. You will also have a higher risk of recurring injuries during everyday use, negatively impacting your quality of life.

Therefore, if you suspect you may have a torn muscle, it’s best to come to our ER for a proper diagnosis and treatment.[/vc_column_text][us_image image=”23878″ size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Head Trauma

Head injuries can be serious. Even if you can’t see any physical evidence of trauma and don’t experience any immediate symptoms, you still need to be vigilant. It is recommended to head for an ER as they are specially equipped with the required imaging technology in order to obtain a proper diagnosis.

Symptoms that suggest you sustained a severe head injury and need to go to the ER as soon as possible include:

Loss of consciousness at the time of the accident
Feeling confused or disoriented after the injury
You were involved in a car crash, even a minor one
Trouble keeping balance
Trouble remember recent events or events involving the injury
Trouble speaking
Severe headaches
Nausea or vomiting after the injury
Vision changes, having trouble seeing or focusing
Changes in behavior after the accident

A fever is a temporary rise in your body temperature. It is often associated with an illness. However, a persistent or unusually high fever that won’t go away with over-the-counter treatment can signify infection.

When to Come to Altus ER

Babies under three months with a temperature higher than 100.4 F
Infants and small children with temperatures higher than 102 F
Adults with a temperature of 103 F or higher
Rush to the nearest ER if you also have nausea, headache, a stiff neck, confusion, or a rash in addition to a fever. You may have meningitis
In addition to a high fever, you also have diarrhea, vomiting, headache, tiredness, confusion, and dizziness. It could be Toxic Shock Syndrome

At Altus Emergency Centers, we provide you with the best diagnostic technology and the most qualified physicians to treat all your emergencies. We are open 24/7. We adhere to the strictest safety protocols and best practices to ensure our patient’s, visitors’, and staff’s safety.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room Instead of an Urgent Care Clinic

In United States alone, over 130 million people visit emergency rooms every year and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said the numbers are expected to rise above 200 million by the year 2020.

Top 35 Reasons Americans Visit the Emergency Room

Americans visit the ER for different reasons but below are some of the common reasons people visit the emergency room .

Chest Pains
Cuts and Bruises
Skin Rashes and Infections
Difficulty Breathing
Asthma Attacks
Stomach Aches
Diarrhea and Vomiting
Migraines and Headaches
Abdominal Pain
Burns and Seizures
Allergic Reactions
Flu and Influenza
Dental Emergency
Sinus Infections
Tachycardia
Animal Bites
Cuts and Lacerations
Foreign Body Removal
Head Injuries
Insect Bites and Stings

Never dismiss or ignore any kind of chest pain , discomfort or sensations of pressure. It is entirely possible that chest pain can be a false alarm caused by nothing more serious than indigestion, but that possibility can’t be ruled out without extensive testing.

In the emergency room , you will be given an electrocardiogram (ECG) to rule out a heart attack , followed by an assessment from experienced physicians and nurses.

Trips and Falls

While children fall over all the time and mostly experience no long-term ill effects, other falls can result in sprains , fractures or head traumas that need emergency treatment.

Go to the emergency room if you see any changes in the patient’s color or function, if the limbs turn cool or there appears to be any deformity. Delays in treating severe fractures can result in long-term disabilities. In traumas to the head there is the additional risk of concussion, which can also have serious consequences.

Breathing Difficulties

Difficulty breathing can have many causes, from easily treated allergies to life-threatening cardiac events.

It’s vital to quickly diagnose what is causing the difficulty is vital. You should seek emergency care if you have difficulty breathing that you can’t explain.

Unexplained Severe Headaches

Sudden severe headaches can indicate the presence of potentially serious medical issues, especially if visual changes or other neurological effects accompany them.

Headaches accompanied by pain or stiffness in the neck, or a high fever also warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Stroke Symptoms

Strokes need immediate, emergency medical attention and you can save a patient’s life if you recognize the symptoms, which include:

Fainting or loss of balance
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty understanding speech
Changes to vision including blurred double vision or any vision loss
Paralysis or weakness on one side of the body or face

Any fevers can be dangerous especially if body temperature goes over 100.4°F and is accompanied by these symptoms: nausea or diarrhea , abdominal pain , headache and neck pain, rashes or difficulties with breathing.

Burns can be confusing to anyone without medical training, because often pain isn’t the most reliable indicator of how serious the burn is. Very severe burns destroy nerve endings, so size of burn is a more reliable indicator.

If a burn is more than three inches wide, seek emergency treatment for it. Also if burns form blisters but are only painful following deep pressure, there is a chance the underlying fat is also affected and this can result in long term tissue damage.

Any burns to the hands or face, or the genitals, need emergency care to help scar tissue interfering with normal function as the burn heals.

This list is, of course, not exhaustive, and there are many other conditions and complaints that are best treated in the emergency room. These are, however, some of the most common complaints that we see.

How to Choose between Emergency Room vs Urgent Care Center

In the panic and fear of a medical emergency or sudden illness, it can be impossible to know what to do and who to turn to for the care the patient needs.

Knowing in advance, while all is calm and well, the differences between urgent care and emergency room and your doctor’s office can help you keep a clear head when an emergency happens.

Use this information to help choose the appropriate option when the time comes.

Urgent Care

Use urgent care facilities when the emergency is not life or limb threatening but needs attention straight away. Accidents can happen at the most inconvenient times of day or night, often when the doctor’s surgery is closed. Situations where urgent care centers could be the best option for treatment include relatively minor cuts that need stitches. Some cuts can be more dangerous than others, however, so you still need to assess the severity of the injury.

Emergency Room

Emergency rooms provide quality care for patients who are experiencing more dangerous conditions, such as trauma, stroke or heart attack, severe bleeding, or dehydration and some types of infection.

They are typically open 24 hours a day and contain the full spectrum of the latest diagnostic machinery, along with specialists to use them and analysts to quickly report the results of any tests performed.

They also work in partnership and cooperation with the majority of local hospitals, and can arrange transfers should follow-up care be needed after the patient receives treatment in the emergency room.

Having some idea of the kinds of situation where emergency room treatment is most suitable can help you make the right decisions in stressful and traumatic situations.

If you are experiencing above symptoms, it is time to visit a nearby emergency room (ER) for treatment.

Health & Safety Tips

When to Visit Emergency Room (ER) for Vomiting and Diarrhea

Vomiting and diarrhea are common symptoms that affect people of all ages, from babies and toddlers to adults. Most of the time, these two symptoms are ...

Heat stroke is the most serious form of heat injury and is considered a medical emergency. If you suspect that someone has heat stroke ...

Try these remedies before heading to the store for a teeth whitening kit. It might take time, but you will see a difference in your smile. Your wallet will thank you ...

Skip to main content
Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Your Health
Treatments & Tests
Health Inc.
Public Health

How do you help patients who show up in the ER 100 times a year?

Leslie Walker

Dan Gorenstein

The hope was that bringing many other services to people with high needs would stabilize their health problems. While the strategy has succeeded sometimes, it hasn't saved money. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images hide caption

The hope was that bringing many other services to people with high needs would stabilize their health problems. While the strategy has succeeded sometimes, it hasn't saved money.

Larry Moore, of Camden, N.J, defied the odds — he snatched his life back from a spiral of destruction. The question is: how?

For more than two years straight, Moore was sick, homeless and close-to-death drunk — on mouthwash, cologne, anything with alcohol, he says. He landed in the hospital 70 times between the fall of 2014 and the summer of 2017.

"I lived in the emergency room," the 56-year-old remembers. "They knew my name." Things got so bad, Moore would wait for the ER nurses to turn their backs so he could grab their hand sanitizer and drink it in the hospital bathroom.

"That's addiction," he says.

Then, in early 2018, something clicked, and turned Moore around. Today, he's more than five-years sober with his own apartment, and he has only needed the ER a handful of times since 2020. He's active in his church and building new relationships with his family.

Moore largely credits the Camden Coalition , a team of nurses, social workers and care coordinators for his transformation. The nonprofit organization seeks out health care's toughest patients — people whose medical and social problems combine to land them in the ER dozens of times a year — and wraps them in a quilt of medical care and social services. For Moore, that meant getting him medical attention, addiction treatment and — this was key for him — a permanent place to live.

"The Camden Coalition, they came and found me because I was really lost," Moore says. "They saved my life."

For two decades, hospitals, health insurers and state Medicaid programs across the country have yearned for a way to transform the health of people like Moore as reliably as a pill lowers cholesterol or an inhaler clears the lungs. In theory, regularly preventing even a few $10,000-hospital-stays a year for these costly repeat customers could both improve the health of marginalized people and save big dollars.

Larry Moore (left) in 2020 with staff members from the Camden Coalition. The housing and addiction treatment the organization helped him get has been life saving. Dan Gorenstein/Tradeoffs hide caption

Larry Moore (left) in 2020 with staff members from the Camden Coalition. The housing and addiction treatment the organization helped him get has been life saving.

But breaking this expensive cycle — particularly for patients whose lives are complicated by social problems like poverty and homelessness — has proved much harder than many health care leaders had hoped. For example, a pair of influential studies published in 2020 and 2023 found that the Coalition's pioneering approach of marrying medical and social services failed to reduce either ER visits or hospital readmissions . Larry Moore is the outlier, not the rule.

"The idea that someone should go to the emergency room 100 times in a year is a sign of deep, deep system dysfunction," says Jeff Brenner, the primary care physician who founded and led the Camden Coalition from 2002 until 2017. "It should be fixable. We're clearly still struggling."

Yet, Brenner and others on the frontlines of one of health care's toughest, priciest problems say they know a lot more today about what works and what misses the mark. Here are four lessons they've learned:

Lesson 1: Each patient needs a tailored, sustained plan. Not a quick fix

The Camden Coalition originally believed that just a few months of extra medical and social support would be enough to reduce the cycle of expensive hospital readmissions. But a 2020 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients who got about 90 days of help from the Coalition were just as likely to end up back in the hospital as those who did not.

That's because, frontline organizations now realize, in some cases this wraparound approach takes more time to work than early pioneers expected.

"That 80th ER visit may be the moment at which the person feels like they can finally trust us, and they're ready to engage," says Amy Boutwell, president of Collaborative Healthcare Strategies , a firm that helps health systems reduce hospital readmissions. "We do not give up."

Frontline groups have also learned their services must be more targeted, says Allison Hamblin , who heads the nonprofit Center for Health Care Strategies, which helps state Medicaid agencies implement new programs. Organizations have begun to tailor their playbooks so the person with uncontrolled schizophrenia and the person battling addiction receive different sets of services.

Larry Moore, for example, has done fine with a light touch from the Coalition after they helped him secure stable housing. But other clients, like 41-year-old Arthur Brown, who struggles to stay on top of his Type 1 diabetes, need more sustained support. After several years, Coalition community health worker Dottie Scott still attends doctor's visits with Brown and regularly reminds him to take his medications and eat healthy meals.

Aaron Truchil, the Coalition's senior analytics director, likens this shift in treatment to the evolution of cancer care, when researchers realized that what looked like one disease was actually many and each required an individualized treatment.

"We don't yet have treatments for every segment of patient," Truchil says. "But that's where the work ahead lies."

Lesson 2: Invest more in the social safety net

Another expensive truth that this field has helped highlight: America's social safety net is frayed, at best.

The Coalition's original model hinged on the theory that navigating people to existing resources like primary care clinics and shelters would be enough to improve a person's health and simultaneously drive down health spending.

Over the years, some studies have found this kind of coordination can improve people's access to medical care , but fails to stabilize their lives enough to keep them out of the hospital. One reason: People frequently admitted to the hospital often have profound, urgent needs for an array of social services that outstrip local resources.

As a result of this early work, Hamblin says, state and federal officials — and even private insurers — now see social issues like a lack of housing as health problems, and are stepping in to fix them. Health care giants like insurers UnitedHealthcare and Aetna have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to build affordable housing, and private Medicare plans have boosted social services , too. Meanwhile, some states, including New York and California, are earmarking billions of Medicaid dollars to improve their members' social situations, from removing mold in apartments to delivering meals and paying people's rent .

Researchers caution that the evidence so far on the health returns of more socially focused investments is mixed — further proof, they say, that more studies are needed and there's no single solution that works for every patient.

Some health care experts also still question whether doctors and insurers are best positioned to lead these investments, or if policymakers and the social service sector should drive this work instead.

Lesson 3: Recent boom in new programs demands better coordination

This spike in spending has led to a wave of new organizations clamoring to serve this small but complex population, which Hamblin says can create waste in the system and confusion for patients.

"All of these barriers to entry and handoffs don't work for traumatized people," former Coalition CEO Brenner says. "They're now having to form new, trusting relationships with multiple different groups of people."

Streamlining more services under a single organization's roof is one possible solution. Evidence of that trend can be seen in the nationwide growth of clinics called Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, These clinics deliver mental health care, addiction treatment and even some primary care in one place.

Brenner, who now serves as CEO of the Jewish Board, a large New York City-based social service agency with a budget of more than $200 million a year, is embracing this integration trend. He says his agency is building out four of that newer type of behavioral health clinic, and offering clients housing on top of addiction treatment and mental health care.

Other groups, including the Camden Coalition, say simply getting neighboring care providers to talk to one another can make all the difference. Coalition head Kathleen Noonan estimates the organization now spends just 25% of its time on direct service work and the rest on quarterbacking, helping to coordinate and improve what she calls the "local ecosystem" of providers.

Lesson 4: Rethink your definition of success, and keep going

Twenty years ago, the goal of the Camden Coalition was to help their medically complex patients stay out of the E.R. and out of the hospital — provide better health care for less cost. Noonan, who took over from Jeff Brenner as CEO of the Coalition, says they've made progress in providing better care, at least in some cases — and that's a success. Saving money has been tougher.

"We certainly don't have quick dollars to save," Noonan says. "We still believe that there's tons of waste and use of the [E.R.] that could be reduced ... but it's going to take a lot longer."

Still, she and others in her field do see a path forward. As they focus on improving their patients' mental and physical health by developing and delivering the right mix of interventions in "the right dose," they believe the cost savings may ultimately follow, as they did in Larry Moore's case.

The stakes are high. Today, homelessness and addiction combined cost the U.S. health care system north of $20 billion a year, wreaking havoc on millions of Americans. As health care delivery has evolved in the last two decades, the question is no longer whether to address people's social needs, but how best to do that.

This story comes from the health policy podcast Tradeoffs . Dan Gorenstein is Tradeoffs' executive editor, and Leslie Walker is a senior reporter/producer for the show, where a version of this story first appeared. Tradeoffs' weekly newsletter brings more reporting on health care in America to your inbox.

Camden, N.J.
health costs
Emergency Room
emergency room frequent flier

Physician Portal
Physician Dashboard

Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room Instead of Urgent Care Clinic

In United States alone, over 130 million people visit emergency rooms every year and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said this week the numbers are expected to rise above 200 million by the year 2020.

Top 36 Reasons Americans Visit the Emergency Room

Americans visit the ER for different reasons but below are some of the common reasons people visit the emergency room.

Chest Pains
Cuts and Bruises
Skin Rashes and Infections
Difficulty Breathing
Asthma Attacks
Stomach Aches
Diarrhea and Vomiting
Migraines and Headaches
Abdominal Pain
Burns and Seizures
Allergic Reactions
Flu and Influenza
Dental Emergency
HIV and other STD
Sinus Infections
Tachycardia
Animal Bites
Cuts and Lacerations
Foreign Body Removal
Head Injuries
Insect Bites and Stings

In the emergency room, you will be given an electrocardiogram (ECG) to rule out a heart attack, followed by an assessment from experienced physicians and nurses.

Trips and Falls

While children fall over all the time and mostly experience no long-term ill effects, other falls can result in sprains, fractures or head traumas that need emergency treatment.

Breathing Difficulties

Difficulty breathing can have many causes, from easily treated allergies to life-threatening cardiac events.

It’s vital to quickly diagnose what is causing the difficulty is vital. You should seek emergency care if you have difficulty breathing that you can’t explain.

Unexplained Severe Headaches

Sudden severe headaches can indicate the presence of potentially serious medical issues, especially if visual changes or other neurological effects accompany them.

Headaches accompanied by pain or stiffness in the neck, or a high fever also warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Stroke Symptoms

Strokes need immediate, emergency medical attention and you can save a patient’s life if you recognize the symptoms, which include:

Fainting or loss of balance
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty understanding speech
Changes to vision including blurred double vision or any vision loss
Paralysis or weakness on one side of the body or face

Any fevers can be dangerous especially if body temperature goes over 100.4°F and is accompanied by these symptoms: nausea or diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and neck pain, rashes or difficulties with breathing.

Any burns to the hands or face, or the genitals, need emergency care to help scar tissue interfering with normal function as the burn heals.

How to Choose between Emergency Room vs Urgent Care Center

In the panic and fear of a medical emergency or sudden illness, it can be impossible to know what to do and who to turn to for the care the patient needs.

Knowing in advance, while all is calm and well, the differences between urgent and emergency care and your doctor’s office can help you keep a clear head when an emergency happens.

Use this information to help choose the appropriate option when the time comes.

Urgent Care

Emergency Room

Emergency rooms provide quality care for patients who are experiencing more dangerous conditions, such as trauma, stroke or heart attack, severe bleeding, or dehydration and some types of infection.

Having some idea of the kinds of situation where emergency room treatment is most suitable can help you make the right decisions in stressful and traumatic situations.

10 Most Common Causes for an ER Visit

Health Tips , News er , er visits , lists , symptoms 0

Thinking about the emergency room might take you back to the dramatic scene from a movie where emergency rooms are visited after a brutal accident. But there are many other reasons why an emergency room may be visited. Do you know the top 10? Read on to find out:

10. Chest Pains

A number of people visit emergency rooms because they experience chest pains. A common perception is that chest pains are a sign of a heart attack. However, little is known about the fact that most of the patients visiting an ER due to chest pain are not diagnosed with cardiac diseases.

9. Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pains are becoming a popular reason to visit the ER. Simple problems like indigestion can result in abdominal pain. However, they are also a sign of kidney stones, food poisoning and other serious illnesses.

8. Toothaches

When you think about the ER, toothache is the last thing that might come to your mind. However, they are a common reason for visiting the ER. When dentist clinics are closed, the only option patients are left with is the ER.

7. Sprains and Broken Bones

Sprains are common. They can happen to anyone, regardless of their age. Thus, they are a popular reason of a visit to the ER. Accidents causing broken bones are also a common reason for visiting the ER.

6. Upper Respiratory Infections

Respiratory infections are becoming common, thus this disease is also one of the top ten reasons for visiting the ER. Common causes are cold, flu, viruses and even cardiac diseases.

5. Cuts and Contusions

Not all lacerations require suture repair but some do. Some people require a tetanus immunization after a cut.. Minor cuts are usually treated at home. Contusions, head trauma, and bruises are however, a common reason to visit the ER.

4. Back Pain

More and more people are visiting the ER due to back pains. A common reason is inappropriate posture and long working hours and sitting in front of the PC.

3. Skin Infections

Skin infections create abnormal reactions in the body. As the skin is responsible for protecting our body, an infection hinders this responsibility. With the increased visit to the ER due to skin infection, ER doctors are now able to treat this disease quite effectively.

2. Foreign Objects in the Body

Bizarre incidents such as coins inside the body or a button inside the ear have not even spared the ER and are a common reason for visiting an ER.

1. Headaches

Believe it or not, ER doctors see more headaches than you can ever expect! Obviously, usual headaches are not treated in the ER, but chronic migraines are definitely treated. Also, severe headaches can be a symptom of meningitis, cerebral hemorrhaging or a brain tumor which is why they are treated in the ER Are you looking for an efficient emergency care center ? We, at Victoria ER, provide complete emergency services for adults as well as children.

Facility News , Industry Information , News

Unveiling the Comprehensive Services of Victoria ER: Your Trusted Freestanding Emergency Room

Diagnostic Imaging , Health Tips

Navigating Medical Imaging: Understanding the Differences Between X-Rays, CT Scans, and MRIs

Health Tips

Safeguarding Your Workspace: A Guide to Preventing Common Workplace Injuries

Israel’s war on Gaza updates: First time aid enters Gaza via Beit Hanoon

US Secretary of State Blinken, on a visit to Tel Aviv, says there should be ‘no delays, no excuses’ in reaching a ceasefire deal, claiming the only reason it may not happen ‘is because of Hamas’.

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip

This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here.

The Erez/Beit Hanoon crossing, the Gaza Strip’s northern border crossing with Israel, has been opened for the first time since October 7, admitting a convoy of 31 aid trucks from Jordan.
Israeli Defence Minister Gallant says the delivery of more aid to Gaza will win the support of the international community for the continuation of war on the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Secretary of State Blinken that he will not accept a deal with Hamas that includes ending the war on Gaza, according to Israeli media reports.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warns that an Israeli assault on Rafah would be an “unbearable escalation” that would be “devastating” for Palestinians in Gaza and the wider region.
At least 34,568 Palestinians have been killed and 77,765 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining us for updates on everything related to Israel’s war on Gaza.

For more news, analysis and opinion on the conflict, click here.

Here’s what happened today

Here’s a quick recap of today’s developments:

Israel said it will invade Rafah with or without an agreement with Hamas as the group is expected to respond to a ceasefire proposal shortly.
Israel reopened the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing into northern Gaza on the same day as a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but Israeli settlers attacked two aid convoys sent by Jordan.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations continue to spread across the US and the globe, with US campuses calling in armed police to arrest dozens of protesters.
The US House passed a bill, now on its way to the Senate, that broadens the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of the State of Israel.
Colombia decided to sever diplomatic relations with Israel, which prompted the Israeli foreign minister to call the Colombian president anti-Semitic.
As border fighting with Hezbollah escalates in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military chief said preparations are under way for “an offensive in the north”.

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip

Israeli military claims attacks on Hezbollah positions

The Israeli military says its fighter jets launched strikes on two buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Ayta al-Shaab and Marwahin a few hours ago.

It said in a short statement that its forces had also targeted another site belonging to the armed Lebanese group in Tayr Harfa.

The Israeli military said this came after two antitank guided missiles were launched by Hezbollah earlier on Wednesday at homes in the Israeli town of Shtola, attacks which inflicted no casualties. The military said it “attacked the source of the fire”.

Palestinian Red Crescent to establish field hospital with Kuwaiti, Egyptian help

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says it has received trucks loaded with medical devices and equipment belonging to the Kuwaiti Red Crescent via the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza.

The aim, it says, is to establish a field hospital in the Mawasi area near Khan Younis in southern Gaza to provide medical services to “hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians”.

As the Israeli military continues its attacks on the southern parts of the enclave and also plans to invade Rafah from the ground, the PRCS is undertaking this project with help from Kuwaiti and Egyptian counterparts.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society is receiving trucks loaded with medical devices and equipment belonging to the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Field Hospital via the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip. 📍PRCS plans to establish the hospital in the Mawasi Khan Younis area to… pic.twitter.com/61E6XPaaZu — PRCS (@PalestineRCS) May 1, 2024

UN reports over 800 Israeli settler attacks in West Bank since October 7

The report by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that we cited earlier also says the organisation has recorded at least 800 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians since October 7.

It says 84 incidents resulted in Palestinian casualties, 629 incidents led to damage to Palestinian-owned property, and 90 incidents resulted in both.

“These incidents resulted in the killing of 31 Palestinians either by Israeli settlers or forces, close to 500 injuries, and vandalization of nearly 80 houses, at least 11,700 trees and saplings, and about 450 vehicles.”

According to the UN report, since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, some 1,765 Palestinians, of whom 43 percent are children, have been displaced after their homes were demolished.

“Over half [961 people] were displaced during operations by Israeli forces, of which 94 percent took place in the refugee camps of Nur Shams, Tulkarm and Jenin.”

#Gaza : ⚠️ Streets and public spaces are littered with explosive remnants of war, posing health and safety issues. ⚠️ The risk of exposure to unexploded ordnance is at its “most dangerous stage,” warns @UNMAS . ⚠️ Over 10K people are estimated to be missing under rubble. More ⬇️ — UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) May 1, 2024

US House passes ‘anti-Semitism’ bill that targets Israel criticism

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that broadens the definition of “anti-Semitism” in order to include the “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity”.

The proposal was passed 320-91, and aims to codify a definition of anti-Semitism offered by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It will now have to be also approved by the Senate, but many US politicians – especially Republicans – have backed it, as tens of thousands of students stage pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country.

Democratic and Jewish member of Congress Sara Jacobs, who voted against the legislation, said she has faced anti-Semitism all her life, “but I do not believe that anti-Zionism is inherently anti-Semitism”.

She said she rejected the legislation “because it fails to effectively address the very real rise of anti-Semitism, all while defunding colleges and universities across the country and punishing many, if not all, of the non-violent protesters speaking out against the Israeli military’s conduct”.

My statement on voting against H.R. 6090: pic.twitter.com/XtxQ1iHatW — Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@RepSaraJacobs) May 1, 2024

US defends much-criticised veto of Palestinian membership in UNSC

The US has once again defended its choice to be the sole permanent member of the UN Security Council to veto a widely supported resolution that would have allowed full UN membership for Palestine and de facto recognition of it as an independent state.

In a General Assembly session in New York to discuss the failed April 18 attempt , US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said there was no unanimity among members as to whether Palestine met the criteria for membership.

He said that “Hamas, a terrorist organisation, is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza, an integral part of the state envisioned in this resolution”.

Wood also claimed that the veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties”.

Hezbollah claimed four attacks on Israeli positions today

The armed Lebanese group says in its end-of-day report of border fighting with Israel that it launched four attacks on Wednesday.

Hezbollah said in order to retaliate against Israeli strikes on villages in southern Lebanon, it targeted the Metulla settlement, while also using rockets and missiles to target the hills of Kfar Chouba.

The armed group also said it monitored a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Pranit barracks and used rockets and artillery shells to target them.

Lastly, it claimed an attack on the Shtoula settlement, achieving a direct hit, using guided missiles.

Hezbollah has been increasingly using rocket volleys and guided missiles to target Israeli positions in border fighting that has been ongoing since October 8, a day after the start of the Gaza war.

Palestinian children thank US students for demonstrations

Palestinian children have been recording videos of themselves thanking US students for demonstrations calling for an end to the devastating war on Gaza.

“We, the people of Gaza, are very happy when we see American students standing with us,” a young Palestinian student says in this video shared by the Palestine Action protest network.

The students can be seen acknowledging and thanking those taking part in major protests across some of the top universities in the US and elsewhere, including UCLA, Emory, and George Washington University.

Students in Gaza thank the students and Palestine Action for taking action against global complicity with the genocide. They are the ones who inspire us everyday to increase our actions for a #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/QYSRQAWTOr — Palestine Action (@Pal_action) May 1, 2024

Nearly half of aid missions to northern Gaza impeded or denied in April: UN

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in its latest report that many humanitarian aid missions into northern Gaza, where needs are most urgent, are still being denied by the Israeli military.

It said that of the 94 missions in April, 27 percent (25) were impeded, 10 percent (9) were denied, and 8 percent (8) were cancelled due to logistical constraints.

After months of restricted access to northern Gaza, the World Food Programme (WFP) said earlier today that it managed to reach Beit Hanoon in order to set up storage space for aid.

“Rolling back six months of starvation requires steady flows of food supplies. Safe, lasting access needs to be sustained over time,” it said.

After months of restricted access to northern #Gaza , @WFP reached Beit Hanoun, to set up storage space for aid. WFP Supply Chain ensures that lifesaving assistance reaches those in need around the clock, reversing months of starvation. 📣 Access needs to be sustained. pic.twitter.com/J3MmlY5e4d — WFP in the Middle East & North Africa (@WFP_MENA) May 1, 2024

New Yorkers rally in support of Palestine on May Day

A large crowd gathered today at New York City’s Foley Square for a protest entitled “Student and Workers Unite for Palestine”.

Posts from protest organisers say that this rally is being held in sympathy not only with Palestinians in Gaza, as they continue to endure Israel’s ongoing military campaign, but also with students on US university campuses, who are currently facing harsh police crackdowns as they demand their institutions divest from business ties with Israel.

🚨BREAKING! Thousands of people are rallying for Palestine in Foley Sq, NYC. Invigorated by the student movement and steadfast in the struggle against genocide despite NYPD repression, students and workers unite to call for a FREE PALESTINE this May Day! #ShutItDown4Palestine pic.twitter.com/c2CjaI3Ygv — The People's Forum (@PeoplesForumNYC) May 1, 2024

Qatar’s FM discusses Gaza developments with Iranian counterpart

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received a call from Hossein Amirabdollahian of Iran, in which the top officials discussed, among other issues, ending the war in Gaza, a read-out from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.

“The call dealt with discussing bilateral cooperation between the two countries and the means to enhance them, in addition to the latest developments in the country, de-escalation, particularly in terms of ending the war in the Gaza Strip and delivering humanitarian aid in the Strip,” the ministry said.

Biden to denounce ‘scourge of anti-Semitism’ in Capitol Hill speech

The White House says US President Joe Biden will take aim at what it terms a spike of anti-Semitism in a speech next week on Capitol Hill, as pro-Palestinian demonstrations are spreading across US universities.

The president, who is running for re-election later this year, will discuss “our moral duty to combat the rising scourge of anti-Semitism” and how his administration is combating it, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The speech will come at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, which has been held since the Carter administration.

The US president has given multiple impassioned speeches about the rise of anti-Semitism since the start of the war on Gaza after the October 7 attacks on Israel. He has also denounced the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, which have led to many arrests across the country.

Palestinians thank students protesting worldwide for their support

Palestinians have demonstrated in the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza to show their support for pro-Palestine protests at universities worldwide.

Demonstrators of all ages held Palestinian flags and signs with names of universities such as Columbia, UCLA, the University of Minnesota and Yale.

Student rallies have spread to dozens of schools across the US in recent days expressing opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza. Students in universities across the world have also joined by staging protests.

Palestinians gather to show support and thank pro-Palestinian university students, in Deir Al-Balah

UNICEF chief: Gaza war ‘taking unimaginable toll on children’

Catherine Russell, the head of the UN’s fund for supporting children (UNICEF), says the war on Gaza must end and has warned of further devastation for Palestinian children as Israel promises an invasion of Rafah.

“Over 200 days of war have already killed or maimed tens of thousands of children in Gaza. For hundreds of thousands of children in the border city of Rafah, there is added fear of an escalated military operation that would bring catastrophe on top of catastrophe for children,” she said in a video message.

“Nearly all of the some 600,000 children now crammed into Rafah are either injured, sick, malnourished, traumatised or living with disabilities.”

The war in Gaza is taking an unimaginable toll on children. In Rafah, a city of children, the impact of a further escalation would be devastating. The lives of children must be protected. All the hostages must be released. The nightmare for so many families must end. pic.twitter.com/5kOye5VySZ — Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) May 1, 2024

Israel says ‘anti-Semitic’ Colombian president can’t change relations

The Israeli foreign minister says the “hate-filled and anti-Semitic” Colombian President Gustavo Petro cannot change bilateral relations that he claims “have always been warm”.

Israel Katz said in a post on X that the Colombian president – who announced hours earlier that the South American nation will sever diplomatic relations with Israel – is rewarding Hamas.

He said Israel will “continue to protect its citizens fearlessly” despite Colombia siding with “the most despicable monsters known to humanity”.

The Israeli military has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children.

WHO says trying to restore partial functionality at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is working with its partners to restore partial functionality to the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza weeks after it was devastated by another Israeli military ground assault.

“The plan here is not to open the hospital as a whole, like the way it was before, but there is a minimum package of services that we expect at a secondary health care facility at this level,” said Husna Daffalla, a WHO coordinator.

She said that includes the maternity ward, operating theatres, the emergency department, paediatrics, an intensive care unit, and a newborn unit.

Hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves at the Nasser Hospital last month, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating.

#Gaza : @WHO and partners have started work to clean-up Nasser Medical Complex as part of efforts to restore functionality so it can serve patients again pic.twitter.com/haho4xg0q2 — UN News (@UN_News_Centre) May 1, 2024

Pro-Palestine protesters arrested at Arizona campuses

US police at two campuses in Arizona have cleared out encampments and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters, The AP reports.

Several people were arrested by police in riot gear at the University of Arizona in Tucson after President Robert Robbins directed school officials to “immediately enforce campus use policies”.

Additionally, about 20 people were arrested at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff on trespassing charges. Police dismantled a small fence made of chicken wire, as well as nearly two dozen tents.

At least a dozen other people were arrested at the University of Wisconsin in Madison as police removed tents erected by protesters.

Police pushed into the protesters with shields Wednesday morning, resulting in a scrum. Protesters chanted, “Students hold your ground”, and “Long live Palestine.”

Police have removed all but one of the tents that protesters erected. The protesters’ tents and belongings were loaded into a dump truck.

Netanyahu discusses ‘anti-Semitism on US campuses’ with Yeshiva University chief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling down on his expressions of concern about “anti-Semitism” on university campuses across the US as students protest against the carnage in Gaza.

He had a meeting earlier on Wednesday at his office in Jerusalem with Ari Berman, a rabbi and the president of Yeshiva University.

The prime minister’s office said the two discussed ways of “combating anti-Semitism in US campuses” and Netanyahu welcomed an initiative to take US university presidents on an annual education programme in Poland.

The March of the Living, slated to be held later this month, is an event that focuses on educating students and university leaders on the Holocaust.

Pentagon says Gaza aid pier halfway complete

US Defence Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters that the country’s army has so-far complete more than 50 percent of a maritime pier that will eventually be placed off the coast of Gaza to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

“As of today, we are over 50 percent complete on setting up the pier,” she said, adding that the pier has several different components.

“The floating pier has been completely constructed and set up. The causeway is in progress,” she continued.

The aid pier, initially announced by US President Joe Biden in March, has been criticised as inefficient by members of the UN and of international humanitarian NGOs. They argue that the best means to deliver desperately needed aid to starving Palestinians is by using existing land-based routes. Israel has been repeatedly criticised for blocking or slowing down the delivery of aid via these routes.

‘Transfer of aid allows us to continue the war’: Gallant

Israel’s minister of defence has said that allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza is a means to an end: Allowing Israel to forge ahead with its war on the besieged coastal enclave, and to gain the support of the international community, which has been pushing for more relief to Palestinians.

In a post on X, he said that he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Karem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] crossing, where “we watched the inspection procedure for the medical aid and food going to civilians in the Gaza Strip”.

Students march in support of Palestine at Emory University

Video posted by local US media shows the beginnings of a protest on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Last week, local police were accused of excessive force when they broke up a demonstration on Emory’s campus.

Protests in support of Palestine have spread across US campuses, and even abroad in places such as Beirut and Paris.

RIGHT NOW: Roughly 100 protesters marching onto Emory’s campus. Another afternoon of rallies planned here. @ATLNewsFirst pic.twitter.com/rNRrzDnPgm — Patrick Quinn (@PatrickQuinnTV) May 1, 2024

Israel ‘militarising civilian objects’ including schools in Gaza: rights monitor

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says in its latest report that the Israeli military has “militarised civilian objects, including schools and educational facilities” in the Gaza Strip.

The Geneva-based group says these facilities are being used as military bases “in flagrant violation of international law and the rules of war”.

The monitor cited the Salah al-Din Preparatory School in Gaza City in the central part of the enclave as an example, which it said was used a detention and interrogation centre for hundreds of local Palestinians in February.

Gaza: Israel deliberately militarizes civilian objects, turns schools into military bases https://t.co/iB7YHwLbFM — Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) May 1, 2024

Israeli forces lower Palestinian flag after West Bank raid

This video verified by our fact-checking unit shows how Israeli soldiers are trying to lower Palestinian flags after a raid on the town of Qasra in the occupied West Bank.

The occupied Palestinian territory is subject to multiple daily raids, during which Palestinians are regularly killed, injured or arrested.

جنود الاحتلال الإسرائيلي يحاولون الوصول إلى أعلام فلسطينية معلقة ببلدة قصرة جنوب شرقي #نابلس بالضفة الغربية لإنزالها عقب اقتحام البلدة #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/vPdV86qAYa — الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) May 1, 2024

Translation: Israeli occupation soldiers are trying to reach Palestinian flags hanging in the town of Qasra, southeast of Nablus in the West Bank, to lower them after storming the town.

Israeli army chief visits border with Lebanon, says preparing for ‘offensive in north’

Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi met troops and held a situational assessment on the Lebanese border earlier today, the military says.

“You are doing an excellent job of operational defence in the north, and we are preparing for an offensive in the north,” Halevi told reservists of the Eztioni Brigade.

The visit comes amid repeated tit-for-tat attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.

IMAGES

These Are the Most Common Reasons Americans Visit the ER According to
Know When to Visit the ER
Emergency Care
Common Reasons Babies Visit the ER
Reasons Kids Visit the ER
The Most Common Reasons for ER Visits

VIDEO

Bearded Mennonites Visit an Orthodox Church

COMMENTS

When to Visit the ER
Some common reasons to visit the ER include: Chest pains. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Abdominal pain, which may be a sign of appendicitis, bowel obstruction, food poisoning or ...
10 Most Common Reasons for an ER Visit
Contusions -- bruises -- and head trauma are also up there in common reasons to visit the ER. In 2009, cuts, broken bones, contusions and trauma injuries sustained in nonfatal motor vehicle crashes sent more than 2.3 million adults to U.S. emergency rooms [source: Beck ]. The next common reason for making a trip to the hospital's emergency room ...
10 Most Common Reasons for an ER Visit
Contusions — bruises — and head trauma are also up there in common reasons to visit the ER. In 2009, cuts, broken bones, contusions and trauma injuries sustained in nonfatal motor vehicle crashes sent more than 2.3 million adults to U.S. emergency rooms [source: Beck]. 4: Back Pain. Believe it or not, back pain is an increasingly common ...
Should You Go to the ER or Urgent Care? How to Decide
You will spend less money in an urgent care center. Time isn't the only thing you'll save by choosing an urgent care center. The average cost of an ER visit is about $1,300 to $1,400. But many urgent care visits cost an average of $150. If you have insurance, you'll see a difference in your copay and other out-of-pocket expenses.
When to go to the ER: 15 signs and symptoms
For babies under 3 months old, any temperature higher than 100.4°F is cause for an ER visit. Other reasons to visit the ER with a fever: Over 104°F in adults; ... It may feel more like pressure or squeezing than sharp pain — but any chest pain is worthy of an emergency room visit. Severe and sudden chest pain may occur alone or with other ...
When to use the emergency room
When to use the emergency room - adult. Whenever an illness or injury occurs, you need to decide how serious it is and how soon to get medical care. This will help you choose whether it is best to: It pays to think about the right place to go. Treatment in an emergency department can cost 2 to 3 times more than the same care in your provider's ...
Urgent care or emergency room: Differences and when to visit
Urgent care centers are usually cheaper. The authors of the 2021 study state that the average cost of treatment at an urgent care center is $156, while the same treatment may cost $570 or more at ...
ER visit tips and tricks: Read this before going to the emergency room
ERs across the country are filling up in a return to the pre-pandemic norm. Before you see a doctor at the emergency room or call 911, read these tips from Dr. Michael Daignault,. During this past ...
Top 5 Reasons for ER Visits
Top five reasons people come into the ER. Number one. Dr. Troy Madsen: Number one. The top reason we see people and the most patients we see are abdominal pains, surprisingly. It's up to maybe about 25 percent of patients we see are there because their stomach hurts.
Emergency vs. Urgent Care: Differences
An Emergency Department treats life- or limb-threatening health conditions in people of all ages. It is the best option when you require immediate medical attention. Urgent Care is the middle ground between your primary care provider and the Emergency Department. If you have a minor illness or injury that can't wait until tomorrow, Urgent Care ...
Urgent care vs emergency room: What's the difference?
Urgent Care. Unless a condition is life-threatening, a trip to urgent care is generally a better use of a patient's time and resources to treat injuries, fevers, infections and other ailments. Urgent care centers often have far shorter wait times than the ER and cost less than a traditional hospital emergency room visit.
These 10 reasons send most people to the emergency room
Top 10 reasons people go to the ER. 1. Stomach and abdominal pain, cramps, and spasms. The most common reason for visits to the emergency department was issues relating to the stomach and abdomen ...
Top 15 Reasons to Go to An Emergency Room
To get them treated, visit the nearest emergency room and get full diagnosis and proper medication. The above mentioned are just some of the medical reasons why you should rush to the nearest emergency. The following are reasons why the emergency room is the perfect place to report these medical emergencies and many others.
Don't Wait: 15 Reasons to Head to the Emergency Room
If you have an emergency, call 911 immediately and wait for the ambulance. Any sudden or severe pain, or uncontrolled bleeding. Changes in vision. Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure. Confusion or changes in mental function, such as unexplained drowsiness or disorientation. Coughing or vomiting blood, or bright red blood in bowel movements.
Ten Common ER Visits
Chest pains are one of the most common reasons why people visit the ER. Cardiac arrest situations are common in the ER and although chest pain visits are declining in recent years, still nearly half a million people die each year due to heart complications. 9. Abdominal Pains. Around 2000 people visit the ER every single day due to abdominal pains.
PDF Most Frequent Reasons for Emergency Department Visits, 2018
Highlights. In 2018, there were 143.5 million emergency department (ED) visits, representing 439 visits per 1,000 population. Fourteen percent of ED visits resulted in hospital admission (61 per 1,000 population). Circulatory and digestive system conditions were the most common reasons for these visits. The majority of ED visits (86 percent ...
Top Reasons to Visit the ER Right Now!
Chest Pain. The first of the top reasons to visit the ER is chest pain. When we talk about chest pains, it could be several pain types, including sharp, dull, burning, or crushing. The pain is not limited to the area around your heart; it can extend from your neck to your abdomen. Chest pain could be a sign of a serious or life-threatening ...
Most Frequent Reasons for Emergency Department Visits, 2018
The majority of ED visits (86 percent) resulted in treatment and release (378 per 1,000 population). The two most common general reasons for these visits were (1) injuries and poisonings and (2) symptoms, signs, and abnormal findings. The most common specific reasons for treat-and-release ED visits were abdominal pain, acute upper respiratory ...
35 Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room Instead of an Urgent Care
Top 35 Reasons Americans Visit the Emergency Room. Americans visit the ER for different reasons but below are some of the common reasons people visit the emergency room. Chest Pains. Cuts and Bruises. Skin Rashes and Infections. Concussion. Traumas. Difficulty Breathing. Asthma Attacks.
How do you help patients who show up in the ER 100 times a year?
"That 80th ER visit may be the moment at which the person feels like they can finally trust us, ... One reason: People frequently admitted to the hospital often have profound, urgent needs for an ...
Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room Instead of Urgent Care Clinic
Top 36 Reasons Americans Visit the Emergency Room. Americans visit the ER for different reasons but below are some of the common reasons people visit the emergency room. Chest Pains. Cuts and Bruises. Skin Rashes and Infections. Concussion. Traumas. Difficulty Breathing. Asthma Attacks.
10 Most Common Causes for an ER Visit
Accidents causing broken bones are also a common reason for visiting the ER. 6. Upper Respiratory Infections. Respiratory infections are becoming common, thus this disease is also one of the top ten reasons for visiting the ER. Common causes are cold, flu, viruses and even cardiac diseases.
Five of the Craziest Reasons People Have Gone to the ER
Most emergency room visits involve heart attacks and broken bones with a good few of them featuring earaches and other minor problems as well. However, some people come to the ER for extremely strange reasons. These may either be serious problems caused by strange circumstances or conditions for which an ER visit is extremely unnecessary. As the average ER turns out five crazy reasons to go to ...
Israel's war on Gaza updates: First time aid enters Gaza via Beit
Israel reopened the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing into northern Gaza on the same day as a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but Israeli settlers attacked two aid convoys sent by Jordan.

Common Reasons to Visit the ER

When to Seek Urgent Care Instead of the ER

Cost of Urgent Care vs. ER

How Long Is the Wait at an ER?

What Should You Do While You're Waiting to Be Seen?

What Happens When You See an ER Provider

What to Pack in Your Hospital Bag

Most Popular

health disclaimer »

Your Health

You May Also Like

Does Medicare Cover Ozempic?

Is Mifepristone Safe?

Health Screening Tests Women Should Have

Doctors That Women Should See

How to Find the Best OB-GYN for You

Early Miscarriage Symptoms

11 Tips for Your First Mammogram

Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, Osteopenia

Key Medicare Enrollment Deadlines

10 Most Common Reasons for an ER Visit

10: Chest Pains

9: Abdominal Pain

8: Toothaches

7: Sprains and Broken Bones

6: Upper Respiratory Infections

5: Cuts and Contusions

4: Back Pain

3: Skin Infections

2: Foreign Objects in the Body

1: Headaches

Lots More Information

When to use the emergency room - adult

Signs of an Emergency

When to go to an Urgent Care Clinic

If you are not Sure, Talk to Someone

Prepare now

Review Date 7/25/2022

Related MedlinePlus Health Topics

The dos and don'ts of going to the ER

University of Utah Hospital

Top 5 Reasons for ER Visits

Episode Transcript

More Episodes

Graham King, M.D.

Emergency vs. Urgent Care: What's the difference?

Here are a few differences between Emergency Departments and Urgent Care clinics:

Hours and staff

Here are examples of types of conditions treated in Urgent Care clinics and Emergency Departments:

Emergency Department:

Related Posts

Urgent care vs emergency room: What's the difference?

Urgent Care

Emergency Room

Urgent Aid for Lower-Level Emergencies

Anwar Isabell, MD

Daniel Bickley, MD

Where Should I Go for Care Today?

When should I contact my primary care doctor?

When should I go to urgent care?

When should I seek emergency care?

Emergency rooms fill up fast. Here are top 10 reasons why people head to hospital

Top 10 reasons people go to the ER

2. Chest pain and related symptoms

3. Shortness of breath

6. Headache, pain in the head

7. Pain, site not referable to specific body system

8. Back symptoms

9. Vomiting

10. Psychological and mental disorders

Why you Should Visit The Emergency Room?

Why choose the emergency room

10 Practical Skills to Learn Before an Emergency

Kale: Discover the ‘secret powers’ of this superfood

Cerebral Aneurysms

Learn How To Control Asthma

Frontline ER - Dallas

Frontline ER - Houston

Ten Common ER Visits

10. Chest Pains