When someone has been in the emergency room for care, they often don’t bother to follow through afterwards. They might be happy to be feeling better the next day, or they are exhausted from their ordeal and don’t have the energy to follow through. The follow through, however, is as important as is the emergency room care itself. What does this mean?
Usually, when you are discharged from the emergency room you’ll be given follow-up instructions from the doctor. You’ll often receive a written summary of how you should continue your care, when you should visit your primary care physician, what you should do if symptoms return, and more. Before you leave the emergency room, make sure that you understand all instructions that the doctors and nurses give to you. Don’t leave feeling that you still have questions that haven’t been answered!
Then, make sure to follow through. Go and see your primary care physician the next day to give them the paperwork from the emergency room and to have them follow your care. Get your prescriptions filled and take the medicine that the emergency room has recommended. Pay attention for recurring symptoms, and more. Just because you’ve left the emergency room, and the emergency doctor’s care, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t continue to be careful about your treatment and your follow-up care at home.
