Many of our ED patients come in because they were told to. Whether it’s by an advice nurse, primary care provider, urgent care, call center, specialty coordinator, etc., it often feels to us like the default is “go to the ED”. But, of course, that’s not the case. There are myriad reasons why patients may be sent to the ED. In this episode, we talk with two of our favorite outpatient physicians – a Pediatrician and an Internist – about when and why they refer patients to the ED, as well as what they do to try to keep them out of the ED! 

Did you learn something new? Please share this podcast with your colleagues! Hit us up on social media @empulsepodcast or at ucdavisem.com

Hosts:

Dr. Julia Magaña, Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Davis

Dr. Sarah Medeiros, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis

Guests:

Dr. Olivia Campa, Assistant Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at UC Davis

Dr. Lena van der List , General Pediatrician at UC Davis, Host of Kids Considered Podcast

Resources:

Should you go to the emergency room (ER), urgent care or doctor’s office? UC Davis Health resource 

I’m Sending You a Patient… by Keri Gardner, MD, MPH, FACEP. EP Monthly, April 30, 2018

When Urgent Care Center Refers Patient to ED, Reasons Might Be Unclear. ED Legal Letter, May 1, 2021.

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Thank you to the UC Davis Department of Emergency Medicine for supporting this podcast and to Orlando Magaña at OM Productions for audio production services.