What was the check-in procedure the last time you went to the emergency room?

It was like the DMV. Take a number and have a seat until called. At least they asked what my issue was first.

We have a great ER in a city in southwestern CT which is not far from our house. I take my daughter there about once a year for the typical things that happen with kids.

There is a security-type of guy sitting at a podium near the front door, and he will tell you what to do if you need assistance. There’s a window, and so you stand near the security guy (to give privacy to people at the window) until you’re next. All the times we’ve been there, there’s not more than one person in front of us, so it’s not really a line, it’s just you stand there until they’re free and you go up to the window.

After you give your ID and details, they give the patient a wristband and they tell you to sit down. After a short wait, the triage nurse calls you to a small room where she checks vital signs and types in details. Then they walk you to a room with the bed and set you up.

While you’re in the room waiting to be seen, a financial person comes with a rolling stand that has a computer on it. She takes your insurance card (again, since it was taken at the window), and copay and issues a receipt. This way, when you leave, you’re all set, no need to stop and do anything else.

A medical secretary checks you in. They will collect your name and call you back up to the desk if there is a line. They can probably get the triage nurse to see you sooner if you meet certain criteria (unknown to me, possibly active bleeding, unconscious, etc.). After check-in, you will see the triage nurse, who will take a list of symptoms and their timeline and determine how potentially severe your condition is. They may do some quick tests like EKG and may have a doctor see you in triage if they have concerns that your condition is severe or needs to be treated quickly (like active arterial bleeding, stroke, heart attack or blood clot). If necessary, you will fill out your check-in and billing paperwork during triage or during the admission process.

I think the process generally works relatively well. Where I live, certain hospital systems have billboards that list their wait time in-real-time, which can help you to determine where to go.

I personally was in the emergency department for blood clots in my lungs (unknown at the time) and was improperly triaged. My mother worked in the hospital and gave feedback to the medical director of the emergency department and they instated new triage policies that would have better picked up my condition. Hospitals should have feedback and constant quality improvement processes in place at all times.

First and foremost, if you don’t HAVE to go to the emergency room, DON’T!

On June 12, 2019 (5pm) I presented my self to the ED at St. Clare, Lakewood, WA.
I simply walked up to a thick plexiglass covered desk. No numbers to select or people in front of me. I gave the receptionist my name and DOB. She asked me about my condition. All my health information including health insurance was already in their system. So I didn’t have to give any papers. She issued me an ID band and asked me to check it.

I was told to sit in the waiting room. Two other people were there before me.

In a couple of minutes a nurse took my into a room. She checked my ID band and choked my DOB. YTook my vital signs and asked me more questions about my condition. Then she told me to go back to the waiting room.

About 10 minutes later two doctor came out to talk to me in the waiting room. They decided to take back into the ED rooms for treatment.

Also security was very tight. The guard had high powered hand gun and a baton.

I’m 61 and have never had to go to the ER.
But I have taken my mom many times. She would sign in, give insurance information and wait for hours. My SIL got the bright idea to say mom had chest pains in addition to what she was really there for because she would be seen faster. She was, but we were there longer because they had to clear her for heart attack.

This is great info,. Keep them coming.
After I get more answers I’ll tell why I’m asking.

My autistic granddaughter dislocated her elbow. We were handed a short information form, which my daughter filled out, and a pager, which blinked after 5 minutes. Not terrible.

Check in. Be grilled for intrusive identification information and proof of insurance.
Then wait amongst the ill and injured for an unknown period of time that may be many hours.

Went to emergency entrance and at counter explained problem and taken to exam room right away. As I live in this Town they already have the information online ( files etc) from the clinic in Town.
Tourists have to register first giving health care info etc

Last time I went in was about a decade ago. My sister found me on her living room floor covered in sweat and next to a puddle of vomit.

She took me to the E.R. even though I insisted it was unnecessary. We went in and were seen at the triage desk right away. They had enough people there so everyone could at least get checked in immediately. This is the scary part. Right after they took my temp I was immediately put on a bed and rushed into a room and about ten people were around me tossing steaming blanket after steaming blanket onto me. Everyone seemed really panicked and I wasn’t sure what was going on. So many blankets….

Turns out my temperature had dropped and was just a few degrees away from organs shutting down. I was in the ICU for three days. I got a bill for 12K and I was outraged.

After the last year that 12K bill seems like a bargain. I do 12K in medical bills in a hour now.

I never found out what was wrong.

But not everyone was seen right away. There was a lot of waiting to be seen if it wasn’t a actual emergency. I had went a few years before that for what turned out to be the flu. That took about five hours to actually be seen by a doctor.

Here’s why I asked.

A couple of weeks ago I went the the emergency room with someone. Walking into the entrance we were greeted by the back of the fourth person standing in line. The staff was getting information, insurance cards, taking BP and vitals, history, and finally triaging each person in order. The process took about 5 minutes per patient. Some went into the ER, some sat down in the waiting room.
This Check-in process left sick or injured people standing in line until it was their turn. The fourth person in line had to stand and wait 20 minutes. The staff never once looked up beyond the next person in line. The security guard, (protecting the ER door and making sure only people with passes could enter), never left his position.
There were plenty of chairs in the waiting room but people could not use them since they had to stand in line.

I wrote a letter to Customer relations and suggested they get a paper ticket dispenser like at an old delicatessen. The guard can hand out the number and the patient can sit until called.
I just wondered how other hospitals did it.

I believe people should not complain unless they can offer a solution or an alternative. Otherwise, you are just a whiner. You can’t simply say: “This is bad!” You must always offer a way to make it better.

In my letter to the hospital I offered to donate a number dispenser and counter if it was not in their budget.
We’ll see what happens.