What If You Go To The Emergency Room

September 29, 2009
Interview with Dr. Travis Stork, host of the TV show The Doctors

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Mike Carruthers:
Most emergency room visits are not in an ambulance where seconds count. So if you are headed to the ER, take a few moments to prepare.

Dr. Travis Stork:
You need to know that you’re meeting a doctor for the first time and he or she has to put together the puzzle and part of that puzzle is your own history and the medicines you take.

Emergency room physician Doctor Travis Stork, one of the hosts of the TV show The Doctors…

Say a week ago you were diagnosed with a sinus infection and you took an antibiotic. It's absolutely essential that the ER Doctor know what antibiotic that was because it really can have an impact on how your ER Doctor treats you.

And how do you know if you should go?

If you have a cold, that’s not the time to go to the ER. If two weeks ago you had a cold and now you’re short of breath and you have fevers, that’s the time to go to the ER because clearly something has changed that requires medical attention.

In terms of wait time in the emergency room…

Almost every day of the week are going to be really busy in the ER so if you can go in the early morning is the best time to go. And the other thing I tell patients is if you’re in an area that has multiple hospitals you can call the ER and ask, “Hey how busy are you?” And one ER may say, “You know what we’re really light right now and the other may say we’re on diversion because there are so many people here.”

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here.