Patients
The emergency department can be a scary place to visit. ER Consulting Inc. understands this and would like to reassure you that all our staff are all here to help you at your time of crisis. We are an extensive doctors’ practice that operates in South Africa to provide emergency care to patients.
All doctors employed by ER Consulting Inc. are fully trained and have undergone additional training in emergency care provision. First Care Solutions (Pty) Ltd is our partner company, providing our administrative structures and training platforms.
Understanding an emergency department is critical in reducing your stress in an emergency situation. In South Africa, emergency departments are outsourced by hospitals to a private practice who is required to provide an emergency service according to specific governance rules and levels. ER Consulting Inc. is the largest such group in South Africa and operates services in 25 emergency units currently.
First Care Solutions (Pty) Ltd and ER Consulting Inc. have experience dating back to 1998. We have developed systems and processes to deliver a world-class service. Emergency Medicine is a complicated area of medicine in that it operates 24 hours, all year round, therefore requires specially trained medical professionals. As a result, emergency departments can be expensive places to visit.
In addition, all other specialists (including X-rays/laboratories) are called in to back up the emergency department doctors. All of these specialists come at an additional cost.
The following are essential to know when going to the emergency room:
- Triage System: Patients are attended to in order of how sick they are, not in the order they necessarily arrive. This process is called triage and ensures that the most ill patients are seen first.
- Shift Work: Doctors work in shifts in emergency medicine, meaning the same doctor will not always be on duty if you return later that day or the next day. Please bring your clinical record with you for ease of reference should you return.
- Identification: Please bring identification (or a friend who knows you) to the emergency department.
- Medical Aid: Present your medical aid card upon arrival, if you have one. Emergency department visits are typically paid for by your medical aid from your medical savings account unless your condition is classified as a “Prescribed Minimum Benefit” (PMB).
- Clinical Records: After your visit, you will receive a copy of your clinical record. Retain this document for your doctor to refer to in future consultations.
If you are ever unsure or need advice, please call the emergency department and speak to one of the nurses or doctors. Alternatively you may contact a virtual doctors on www.carefirst.co.za. When you feel concerned that you are not getting better, return to the emergency unit immediately and get help.
Do you need more information about emergency preparedness or training? Please contact our training partner company, the Africa Institute of Emergency Medicine (Pty)Ltd who will assist you.
Emergency Unit Locations
Find the closest ER Conculting managed Emergency Unit near you
Understanding the ER
In an emergency, no patient wants to wait to be seen. It is indeed the most common complaint from patients that waiting times are too long. Waiting times, however, are a complex equation to solve from both a medical, administrative and cost perspective, considering patient satisfaction and overall experience.
ER Consulting Inc. has implemented numerous initiatives to assist in reducing waiting times and currently has one of the shortest average waiting times in the industry. ER Consulting Inc. uses CareFirst, a system designed exclusively to reduce waiting times and improve overall throughput times.
Waiting times are challenging to manage for many reasons. The very nature of emergencies is such that they are unplanned and therefore planning staffing requirements is always a challenge. Seasonality, surge periods, and the severity of patients’ conditions all influence waiting times. With considerable pressure to reduce costs, effective management of human resources is crucial to prevent staff burnout and errors caused by fatigue.
To cater for sudden increases in volumes of patients, ER Consulting Inc. has a second on-call system that gets activated. In addition, a senior telephonic advisory service assists with logistical support. In rare cases of extreme overload, other resources are mobilised from our deep doctor resource.
In medical practice, the most severely ill or injured patients are prioritised for treatment. This process of assessing a patient’s condition is known as triage, conducted promptly by a nurse upon arrival at the emergency unit. Triage categorises patients into one of 4 color-coded groups (Green, Yellow, Orange, Red), ranging from least to most severe urgency. Patients are then attended to in order of medical severity, with the most critical cases receiving immediate attention.
Triage can be frustrating for patients who may feel it places them lower in the queue. This is particularly evident if someone arrives after you but is triaged with a higher urgency colour. ER Consulting Inc. uses the triage system to prioritise patients based on medical need. To address wait times for less urgent cases, we are implementing several initiatives. These include testing the CareFirst system, enhancing laboratory and radiology turnaround times, and making ergonomic improvements to our facilities.
The severity of the emergency dictates what to bring with you. If you feel that you have an emergency that is life or limb-threatening then do not hesitate, get to the emergency department as soon as possible. Anything left behind can always be retrieved later by a family member or friend. Patients should be reassured that no patient will ever be refused treatment for a life or limb-threatening injury while waiting for ANY details of ANY kind.
In an emergency, the hospital and the doctors will want to know the following:
- Your name
- Your ID
- Your medical aid card
- Your next of kin
- Your usual doctor
If you think you may be admitted, an overnight bag with a change of clothes, underwear, gown and slippers, and toiletry bag should be more than enough.
There are several types of billing codes. Billing codes can be for Hospital Services, Doctor Services and Stock and Consumables. In the emergency unit, you may come across all three code types.
Hospitals own emergency units. The hospitals generally provide the facility, equipment, nursing and administration in an emergency unit. The hospital will always charge you a “Facility Fee” when you use an emergency unit over and above the doctor’s fees.
The doctoring of the emergency facility is provided by an outsourced doctor group (ER Consulting Inc. being the largest in South Africa). Specialists who work in a hospital are not employed by the hospital either (this includes X-ray and Pathology Services). When you attend an emergency unit, therefore, you may receive several accounts from the different service providers.
Billing codes are standardised codes for various consultations and procedures performed by multiple service providers. Codes are useful for the funders (medical aids) to understand what is being claimed by the doctors accurately. Doctors and hospitals are guided as to what to charge for each code by various organisations, however, a doctor is allowed by right to choose his/her fee for any code.
The codes charged to you will appear on the account you receive from each service provider.
For more information on ER Consulting Inc.’s billing, click here.
Emergencies are often overwhelming. This means that all your focus is on getting the care you need as quickly as possible. Often it is difficult in a crisis to pay attention to all the detail and information many people are giving you. You are also often concerned about your or your loved one’s condition, and therefore not listening to all the information you are given. Doctors and nurses also often use medical language that is not clear, and if they are busy, this often comes out fast.
Despite the confusing, overwhelming environment of the emergency unit, it is vital that you understand everything that is being asked of you and done to you! Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand. The doctors, nurses and administrators are required to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
