The emergency room deals with disorders, diseases and conditions that need to be addressed immediately.
What does an emergency room doctor do?
A doctor who works in the emergency department can provide patients with high quality care immediately. The doctor aims to evaluate and manage a patient's health problems and release them whenever possible, within 24 hours. The specialist is able to treat the health problems of urgent nature, and decide whether to hospitalize a patient or not.
To avoid the risk of discharging a patient who would need to be hospitalized, and vice versa, the emergency room doctor uses intensive short term observation, providing optimal care without necessarily having to admit the patient.
If necessary, a emergency room doctor can draw on the expertise of specialists from other departments such as surgeons, orthopedists, neurologists, and physiatrists.
What diseases are treated by an emergency room doctor?
A doctor in an emergency room may have to deal with any type of disease or disorder. Among the most common include chest pains of various origins and nature, heart failure, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, stroke, tachycardia and arrhythmias, and trauma. Others include digestive bleeding, aortic dissection, obstruction of the upper airway, acute febrile syndrome such as influenza, and exanthematous diseases such as chicken pox.
What are the procedures used by an emergency room doctor?
The first procedure conducted in an emergency room is the so-called triage, which consists of assessing the gravity of each case. Once assessed a patient is assigned a color code corresponding to the urgency of the matter and subsequent treatment.
Typically only 15% of patients arriving in an emergency room are kept under observation and of these only 30% are subsequently hospitalized. The tests which may be carried out before deciding whether it is necessary to hospitalize or discharge a patient depend on the symptoms experienced by the patient upon arrival at the emergency room. Among the most common tests include blood tests, electrocardiogram, radiograph, echography, and blood pressure measurements. In the emergency room a patient can also be given drugs such as painkillers to cope with acute or chronic pain syndromes.
When should a patient visit an emergency room doctor?
Seeking emergency care is important in all cases in which severe symptoms are present that affect the ability to move, sensitivity, breathing, state of consciousness, urinary or bowel functions, and psychological balance of a patient especially when they occur suddenly. It is crucial to seek emergency care whenever a patient is experiencing pain in the thorax, abdomen, or head. A emergency room doctor does not replace a general practitioner, the only reason to visit an emergency room is when an intervention is deemed necessary and urgent.
