Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbbmw
Let me recap:
1. Patient separates shoulder. While painful, and should be addressed in a reasonable length of time (up to 72 hours, let's say) to prevent scar tissue and permanent loss of motion.
2. Patient suffers a brain aneurysm, which can cause immediate death.
Which one would be more likely to be called an "emergency?"
Have a great day.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Shiralian
Both are an emergency situation and I can assure you the hospitals and physicians here will deem that as emergency as well and deal with them accordingly.
If you like your system better I suggest you keep it and let us keep ours as well.
Have a great day
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Sorry OP for jacking your thread (what have I done?). Ali, sorry to hear about your story and I'm glad everything worked out. Also let me add that Ali is correct, or at least I agree with his comments, that Doctors and Hospitals will make their assessment of what is an emergency and what is not. Is it perfect? No it is not. Could our system be improved and have wait time reduced? Absolutely.
Also let me clear up that a separated shoulder and a dislocated shoulder are two different types of injuries. A dislocated shoulder is not considered as an emergency because most of the time paramedics can put it back in place without sending you the hospital. A dislocation is only painful when the shoulder socket is out of place because the socket will be pressing against the nerves and restrict blood flow to your arm. However the pain goes away virtually instantly the second the socket gets put back in place. I can get into more details on how that feels if you want as my shoulder popped out 4 times in a span of less than 2 years. Also you'll get back full range of motion once the swelling subsides, in fact you'll gain more range of motion in a way after each dislocation because the labrum gets more stretched or torn and more unstable each time. Hence why you hear people say the shoulder gets easier and easier to come out with each subsequent dislocation. The "good" thing is you'll feel less pain each time the shoulder comes out. Yes it can lead to further damage if left untreated, BUT that takes YEARS and only if you choose to continue physical activities. I have teammates that quit playing hockey because they chose not to have surgery and their shoulder is perfectly fine now they stopped physical sports.
In Canada, people do have the option to pay out of pocket for faster (much faster) medical treatment. In my case, if I were to pay out of my own pocket I could have had all the tests and surgery done within the same week from my initial doctor visit. Could I have paid out of my pocket at the time? Yes, but it would still put a financial burden on myself. Given my injury was not an emergency why would I pay when our health care system will take care of everything if I just wait, and let people who are in need of emergency care get treatment first. So yes I am glad and happy with our health care.