Authors

Morgan Michael

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Abstract

In the current, unprecedented healthcare climate, patients are seeing increased wait times in urgent cares, emergency rooms, and even primary care offices. If a patient does make it through the sometimes four plus hour wait to see a physician in an ER, and they are then admitted to the hospital, they may be stuck waiting for a hospital bed to open up for several more hours in the ER. This vicious cycle of waiting is frustrating for the patients and the healthcare workers. It creates lower quality care, increased adverse outcomes, and improper utilization of resources. In this presentation, I have outlined how, through proper use of the healthcare system, patients can not only improve the quality of their own care, but the care of their community. With resources gathered from Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri communities, from free clinics to private practices, members of our community will have the knowledge to choose the healthcare option best suited for their needs. Peer reviewed literature is utilized to evidentiate which healthcare option, primary, urgent, or emergent, would provide the best quality care in any health scenario. When communities are given the proper resources to succeed, it creates better outcomes for all people involved, from patients and their families to the professionals providing the care.

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