What to Expect When You Visit the Emergency Room

Mar 21

March 21 — PROVO — No matter what, visiting an emergency room is a stressful experience. Staff members strive to do everything possible to make all patients feel safe and comfortable. However, John Resch, manager of the Emergency Room at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, has eight tips everyone should understand to help an ER visit go as smoothly as possible:

Patients aren’t always seen in the order they arrive. Patients with the most serious or rapidly-changing conditions are treated first.
The average visit takes 2.5 hours. This may increase if laboratory tests or X-rays are needed. Some specialty tests take an hour or more to complete. Every effort is made to provide prompt care.
Evening, weekends and holidays are our busiest times. The emergency room gets busier when other options like primary care physicians or urgent care facilities are closed. Utah Valley Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Room serves an average of 130 patients every day.
Patients will be evaluated by experienced Emergency Room providers. If the ER provider feels your condition warrants an on-call specialist, one will be contacted. This may lengthen your ER visit.
Patients should not eat, drink or use the restroom without checking with the ER staff. This prevents any interference with medical tests or procedures.
We want your visit to go as smoothly as possible. Telephones are available to help you contact family and friends. Social workers, clergy and other counselors are on call to provide assistance. Each patient is allowed up to two visitors, with exceptions made by the primary care nurse.
Insurance verification and authorization for coverage is the responsibility of the individual receiving service. If you have questions about your insurance coverage, please contact your insurer. Be aware that you will receive separate bills from your ER visit — one from the ER physician group and one from the hospital.
Before you leave the hospital, be sure you know: what is wrong, including signs and symptoms to watch for and when to go in for a follow-up exam; what you need to do to care for yourself at home, including what medications you should take; and who to call if you have any problems.

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For more information, please contact Janet Frank at 801.357.7766 or janet.frank@imail.org.

Here are eight tips everyone should understand to help an ER visit go as smoothly as possible: