Doctors Share The Things You Should Never Do At The ER

Key Points:

• Emergency room staff face increasing physical and verbal assaults from patients and visitors, with studies showing that over 66% of ER physicians have been assaulted in the past year, highlighting a growing safety concern.
• Long wait times in ERs are often due to prioritizing patients based on the severity of their conditions, but some patients exacerbate delays by refusing care, demanding immediate attention, or bringing disruptive behavior.
• Medical professionals urge patients to remain calm, practice courtesy, and understand that ER teams manage life-threatening emergencies first, advising against aggressive behavior that hinders care for others.
• Visitors should be mindful about who they bring to the ER, as large or noisy groups can disrupt medical staff and delay treatment, with some family members exhibiting aggressive behaviors that divert attention from critical patients.
• Patients are encouraged to perform “self-triage” by assessing whether their condition truly requires emergency care or if urgent care or primary care facilities might be more appropriate, which can reduce ER overcrowding and costs.