Overcrowding and Resourcing in The ER

How many of you care for patients in the ER who shouldn't really be there? At worst we're talking about psychiatric patients who sit in the ER and pose a physical threat to nurses. At best it is a drain on resources and impacts overall healthcare for those who really need it. Appropriate protocols and policies to streamline healthcare provision and ensure the right care is given to the needs of the patient are paramount elements to efficiency. When someone doesn't need to be an ER, or someone we should be transferred to another unit that can better provide for their needs isn't, everybody suffers. The issue can also lead to poor delivery of healthcare to patients who are in the wrong ward. And also as an added stress to the nurses who need to pay attention to patients maybe outside of their particular expertise. What protocols or policies do you have in place to mitigate? Or is this just part of delivering effective healthcare to all? Does it look different in for profit centers versus regions with socialized medicine?

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