The latest stats from the Center for Disease Control show emergency rooms visits are up. Some 120 million of us visited the ER in 2006 -- the last year for which records are available.
Historically, the ER has been for uninsured people. But today, a very large numbers of insured individuals are making the trek -- even for non-emergency conditions in the middle of the day.
What's going on? Well, many people no longer have primary care doctors. So they just go to the hospital. Not a good idea. The wait is very long and you have to be assessed in triage; there's no "first come, first serve" service. The visits are also massively expensive even with insurance.
If you do have insurance, you'd be better off taking the time to pick a primary care doctor. This also allows for continuity of care and easy follow-up visits.
But most people won't get around to selecting a primary care doc. That's why there are alternatives like "nurse-in-a-boxes," which can be found at supermarkets, drug stores, Wal-Marts, etc. Nurse-in-a-boxes usually have a price list so you know how much you'll pay to be seen by a nurse practitioner.
Another alternative comes in the form of Doctor of Nursing Practice programs being offered at some 200 schools. These doctoral-level programs require nurses to take the same qualifying exam as a doctor. Clark loves that the marketplace is developing an answer to the primary care crunch.
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