[function_seven]

So why doesn't the triage nurse hand out the Benadryl, tell the patient to wait in the lobby for an hour, and see if that resolves it? They could charge $75 for the single pill, and still avoid using a bed or the services of additional staff.

[bspn]

In short, liability. So much behavior within the US medical profession is driven by a fear of getting sued for malpractice. Even though the patient would be sitting in the ER with treatment close at hand, if the situation did worsen and the patient suffered complications there will be the inevitable questions asked as to why the triage nurse didn't admit them in the first instance. For hospitals it's just not worth the risk of potentially expensive and lengthy lawsuits/settlements.

[Spooky23]

That’s not how the process works for an ER. A doc in a box urgent care would essentially do that.

An ER handles everything from bee stings to shootings or strokes. They’re optimized to deal with those emergencies, not optimize cost for minor dings, especially when most of the minor issues are uninsured people who won’t pay anyway.

Emergency medicine is not a profit center, and is often mandated to exist. You’re paying for all of the lost receivables and capability.

[romwell]

>A doc in a box urgent care would essentially do that.

Yeah, and urgent care facilities usually have working hours like 8AM-8PM. Because, you know, those are the only hours people every get minor sicknesses.

[adrianN]

If it's a minor sickness it can usually wait 12 hours?

[cameldrv]

Emergency medicine most definitely can be a profit center. That's why you see all of these new freestanding emergency rooms that look like an urgent care center but are open 24 hours and bill 2x as much.