Healthathon Challenges
How could Emergency Room patient experience be improved?
Hospital emergency departments have varying intake protocols for SCD patients, and some have no protocols at all, which creates confusion and challenges for patients seeking care. The lack of specialists in Sickle Cell Disease and poor access to treatment resources creates challenges for patients who may not have people to advocate for them or individualized care plans that they can easily present to ED physicians. As a result, many ED doctors and nurses are not trained in administering the proper medications or correctly diagnosing a patient’s symptoms. These issues can be compounded by racial bias and social stigmas towards patients seeking opioids. Many patients have to drive to select emergency departments for specialized care, which can often be daunting if that emergency department is far away.
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