Comments on: Directing patients to the ER http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/01/directing-patients-to-er.html medical blog Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:06:55 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Rich, MD http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/01/directing-patients-to-er.html/comment-page-1#comment-70593 Rich, MD Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:16:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/01/directing-patients-to-the-er.html#comment-70593 This is sort of a ridiculous conclusion, in the context of whether a few docs at a dinner party or a doc he could not reach on the phone could or should have been able to tell him that further evaluation was not necessary:<br/><br/><i>Would you hire a lawyer or accountant who always provided the most conservative advice with the most expensive consequences?</i><br/><br/>The answer is of course not. But let's compare apples to apples. What he should ask is:<br/><br/>Would you call your lawyer or accountant and ask for his (free)advice over the phone (or at a dinner party), to be given without the benefit of an examination of the relevant documents?<br/><br/>The question is not whether or not doctors refer people to the ER to reduce their risk <i>per se</i>, but whether, on a holiday, the day before leaving for a trip out of the country, a physician can or should attempt to diagnose a fracture either (a) on the phone, or (b) without the benefit of an x-ray, because to do otherwise would be an inconvenience to the patient.<br/><br/>Does your accountant provide you with sound advice when asked during a dinner party? Or do you bring all of your financial documents with you so that he can give sound advice? This is sort of a ridiculous conclusion, in the context of whether a few docs at a dinner party or a doc he could not reach on the phone could or should have been able to tell him that further evaluation was not necessary:

Would you hire a lawyer or accountant who always provided the most conservative advice with the most expensive consequences?

The answer is of course not. But let’s compare apples to apples. What he should ask is:

Would you call your lawyer or accountant and ask for his (free)advice over the phone (or at a dinner party), to be given without the benefit of an examination of the relevant documents?

The question is not whether or not doctors refer people to the ER to reduce their risk per se, but whether, on a holiday, the day before leaving for a trip out of the country, a physician can or should attempt to diagnose a fracture either (a) on the phone, or (b) without the benefit of an x-ray, because to do otherwise would be an inconvenience to the patient.

Does your accountant provide you with sound advice when asked during a dinner party? Or do you bring all of your financial documents with you so that he can give sound advice?

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