con artists

[Aidey]

Yes. They are not mutually inclusive.

While I'm not sure the word malicious is right, I do believe there are people out there who deliberately take advantage of the system for their own gain. The people who call 911 to take an ambulance to a certain part of town because they can't afford a cab; Those that get pain killers to sell. Those under arrest and trying to get out of it.

On the other hand, I believe there are people who abuse the system out of ignorance, fear, impatience, and poverty among other reasons. I would guess that over 90% of system abusers or misusers fall into these type of categories. The people who don't know what resources are available and go to the ER for everything; Those that assume their toe pain is a blood clot (true example, unfounded fear); Or don't want to wait to get an appointment at their GP; Or who call 911 because they don't want to wait in triage; Or those without insurance who know they can get their costs written off as charity care, something private docs don't usually do.

Maybe misuse is a better term than abuse, but that is semantics. My point is that I think it is possible for someone to be inappropriately using the emergency medical system without having malicious intent, though there are some exceptions.

 

[LonghornMedic]

Yes. They are not mutually inclusive.

While I'm not sure the word malicious is right, I do believe there are people out there who deliberately take advantage of the system for their own gain. The people who call 911 to take an ambulance to a certain part of town because they can't afford a cab; Those that get pain killers to sell. Those under arrest and trying to get out of it.

On the other hand, I believe there are people who abuse the system out of ignorance, fear, impatience, and poverty among other reasons. I would guess that over 90% of system abusers or misusers fall into these type of categories. The people who don't know what resources are available and go to the ER for everything; Those that assume their toe pain is a blood clot (true example, unfounded fear); Or don't want to wait to get an appointment at their GP; Or who call 911 because they don't want to wait in triage; Or those without insurance who know they can get their costs written off as charity care, something private docs don't usually do.

Maybe misuse is a better term than abuse, but that is semantics. My point is that I think it is possible for someone to be inappropriately using the emergency medical system without having malicious intent, though there are some exceptions.

Those are are true and frustrating. But it is still our job to take them to the hospital and treat them with respect. It isn't our job to judge people. I'm pretty sure I've given pain meds to drug seekers. But with little resources available to me in the field, if someone complains of pain, and protocols call for meds, then they get them. It's up to a physician to determine if they should get more at the ER or a script to take home. I had a partner who refused to give pain meds to a patient with a kidney stone just because she was having a bad day and this patient rubbed her the wrong way. That is jacked up in my opinion. We as professionals have to learn to put our feelings and bad days aside and do our jobs.