In the midst of a very busy schedule 2 weeks ago running from meeting to meeting in 100 degree heat with suits on during our IPO roadshow, I started experiencing vertigo (a few times a day on Tuesday to 20 times on Thursday). I have never had this before. Everything was spinning while walking, eating, presenting, and even sleeping. On Thursday night, I decided that I should drive from NYC to Boston instead of flying. I was worried about how I was feeling. Thursday night, on the car ride to Boston, I decided I should schedule a WhiteGlove visit in my hotel room for 8am Friday morning before we started another pretty busy roadshow day; which I did. Unfortunately, an hour outside of Boston, a dizzy spell started and lasted for more than 30 minutes where it feel like I was completely drunk with bed spins riding on a crazy amusement park ride and it would not stop. Everything was amplified. It caused us to pull over on the highway where I could not stop violently throwing up (or stop the bed spins) for nearly 30 minutes. It was awful. So, I made a decision in that moment to forego my WhiteGlove visit the next morning and go directly to the Massachusetts General Hospital ER that night. We got there about 11pm Thursday night and I did not leave until 5am on Friday morning. While in the ER for 6 hours, they administered all the most expensive medical services they could … EKG, lab work, and a 45 minute high resolution MRI of my brain. Talk about running the meter! This, coupled with multiple instances where they confirmed the wrong name or address throughout the 6 hours, they provided care to me in a hallway (no privacy), and they only spent about 10 minutes of time with me providing care is so ILLUSTRATIVE of the problems we have in America with healthcare. Massachusetts General Hospital is supposed to be one of the best in the country. HERE IS WHAT’S MOST AMAZING – Thursday night’s ER experience probably cost me $10,000 and after 6 hours they could ONLY tell me that my vertigo symptoms was likely caused by an inner ear problem – YET, THEY NEVER ONCE LOOKED INTO MY EARS OR NOSE!

On Saturday morning, now home, I was still congested and not feeling quite right. I called WhiteGlove again, this time to come to my house. A nurse practitioner showed up within 90 minutes from my call for an 11am appointment. After a 20-25 minutes with the NP, he diagnosed without a doubt that this week’s issues were due to an inner ear problem where my tubes are not draining properly and thus throwing off my equilibrium. How did he do that? He asked different questions and simply looked in my nose and ears and saw symptoms that would suggest that I was very incredibly swollen and congested. The nurse practitioner gave me a cortisone shot and some other prescription meds and it cost me a TOTAL of $35!

So, $10,000 and 6 hours in the ER … vs. $35 and 25 minutes with WhiteGlove at home. And by the way, the nurse practitioner was *absolutely* terrific! If I had not had had such an awful experience in the car on the way to Boston, I would have been seen by WhiteGlove on Friday morning and I could of saved myself and the company $9,965 and lots of lost sleep before a busy day on Friday.

One day later — Sunday, I am feeling 1000% better than I was when I left on Tuesday! So, thank you to the WhiteGlove team for doing what it does. This personal story is a great example of the kind of impact we are able to have on society and healthcare. And just more real world validation.

Bob Fabbio
CEO
WhiteGlove Health

Today, more and more Americans are relying on Emergency Departments for primary health care. According to the CDC, in 2006, 119 million visits were made to emergency rooms, an increase of 32% in the last 10 years. It has also been reported that 55% of emergency room visits were not emergencies.

Why? People often are confused about what level of care to seek for a health problem. They don’t know if their problem is serious and considered an emergency, therefore necessitating a trip the emergency room or if it is routine and can be treated in the comfort of their home or office. Further, people often don’t want to take care of their issue during their work hours, and so look for healthcare solutions after 5 pm or on weekends, which leads them to seek routine health care in emergency rooms.

How can you tell if you should go to the emergency room?

WhiteGlove House Call Health provides get-well care and stay-well care.  Anything you would normally go to your family doctor for, you can call Whiteglove for:

• Flu
• Cold
• Sinus infection
• Skin rash
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Ear infection
• Urinary tract infection
• Minor cuts

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) gives a list of health problems for which you should go to the emergency room. Go to the emergency room if you have:

• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
• Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure
• Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness
• Changes in vision
• Confusion or changes in mental status
• Any sudden or severe pain
• Uncontrolled bleeding
• Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Suicidal feelings
• Difficulty speaking
• Shortness of breath
• Unusual abdominal pain
• Loss of consciousness

A complete list with details is available on the ACEP website.

Next time, remember, any health problem that might cause you to go to a primary care physician, family physician or even a minor care clinic, is a problem that WhiteGlove can handle. Save time, save money and save yourself a long wait in an over-crowded emergency room.

QUESTION and ANSWERS: Do you have other tips or ideas? Please share a comment with us. If you have further questions please send them directly to questions@whiteglove.com and we will get to them as quickly as possible.

See all the WhiteGlove Self-Help posts.

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In a recent (April 28, 2011) in NPR’s health blog entitled “Emergency Room Doctors Say Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse”, the author discussed a new survey released by the American College of Emergency Physicians. In it, ER physicians say that emergency room overcrowding isn’t caused by people who don’t have insurance, but by people who do but cannot find a doctor to treat them.

“97 percent of ER doctors… said they treat patients daily who have private insurance and primary care doctors, but whose primary care doctors sent them to the emergency room for care…because the patient’s need for care arose during a time when that private doctor’s office was closed.”

Further “89 percent of physicians in the survey said they believe the number of visits to emergency rooms will increase as the new health law is implemented. ‘The results are significant,” said ACEP President Sandra Schneider in prepared comments. “They confirm what we are witnessing in Massachusetts — that visits to emergency rooms are going to increase across the country, despite the advent of health care reform, and that health insurance coverage does not guarantee access to medical care.’”

What’s interesting about this article, beyond the fact that it flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that ERs are filled with uninsured patients, is that no one seems to be thinking beyond the reality of what’s happening right now. There’s no consideration that alternative options are going to spring up to fill a need. But they will, and have already.

WhiteGlove House Call Health is one such alternative. WhiteGlove operates 365 days a year, from 8 am till 8 pm. Members no longer have to seek medical care at emergency rooms and minor emergency clinics for non-emergency health problems simply because their regular doctor’s office is closed. WhiteGlove members, insured and uninsured alike, have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they are not tied to a doctor’s office hours for help with most of their healthcare needs.

Liz McDonald
Social Media Associate – WhiteGlove

Please share a comment with us. If you have further questions please send them directly to questions@whiteglove.com and we will get to them as quickly as possible.

Reference:
Emergency Room Doctors Say Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse, NPR April 28, 2011

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