richard[WINTERS]md: Concierge Emergency Department / also, the Seniors ED
Posted by GruntDoc on January 27th, 2009
richard[WINTERS]md: Concierge Emergency Department is a very interesting idea.
Every hospital I’ve been to treats every patient to the same experience, with the same care. Some people would gladly pay for the same care but a better experience (see above blog post). I know I would.
What say you, folks about the Concierge ED: good, bad, or indifferent?
On the same track, an ED in Silver Springs, MD had a good idea, the Seniors ED:
When Barbara Rayner, 78, came to the emergency room at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring last month with severe lower back pain, she was expecting a long wait and harried staff. But within minutes she was whisked into a separate area, called the senior emergency center. It is one of the nation’s first ERs designed to serve a population 65 and older.
Seniors get a better experience, and the hospital gets to market to a payor group that’s nearly 100% covered by some kind of insurance. Win/Win.
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January 28th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I think this is a large part of the draw of the nightime-and-weekend clinics all around, right? If it’s Friday at 11PM, and my son is sick enough I want him to be seen by a doctor, I don’t have to wait four hours at the ER, I can go to the nighttime pediatrics clinic and have him seen within the hour. Of course, they’re not going to see you if you can’t pay, which is why you can be seen quickly and why they’ve got a nice child-friendly waiting room and such.
I’m having a hard time seeing how much of an improvement a concierge ER as described in the linked post would be, relative to that. If one of my sons is sick or badly injured enough to need to be at the ER, I’m unlikely to enjoy many amenities other than having him seen and treated quickly.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:19 pm
That “second largest hospital in Maryland” is split between insured and immigrant un-insured populations. They are not that far from Bethesda where there is “nice” hospital.
If I spent had spent hours in an ER full of immigrants/little kids/drama with my aged Mom I would probably be thinking about driving a few more miles next time to a locale where I could wait in peace and quiet.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:13 am
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