It’s called “compassion fatigue” and also a healthy dose of ego. If all you need is antibiotics I would go to an urgent care first. If you have complex health issues making antibiotic prescription more complex (diabetes, signs of heart attack/ stroke, wound needing draining, a chest x-ray that can’t be done at urgent care, or previous history of allergies to antibiotics, etc) then ER is what your GP recommends bc they can do the additional testing/ treating. (C)

(C) If you’re GP is specifically recommending going to ER (not the receptionist) due to what they know about your condition/ general health, then listen and make sure you tell ER that the GP sent you bc of x y or z reasons.

If they tell you to go to the ER, then most definitely there’s an issue and you’ll likely get admitted. Sinus infections, colds, ect go to Urgent Care or walk in clinics.

PCP’s tell you to go to the ED to cover themselves in the event something is wrong with you. Keeps their hands clean. Emergency means just that… life threatening.

That is a whole lot of different questions. 1) I’m a PCP and I would never tell someone to go to the ER just because I’m busy only if there is a true emergency. 2) ER would never turn you away. You could literally go there for a stuffy nose (but please don’t) and they would see you 3) There is no shortage on antibiotics however there are things such as viruses and antibiotic resistance which give us pause before prescribing them.

Antibiotics: fairly simple. If they’re not prescribed to you, your condition doesn’t appear to require them at this time (you don’t have a bacterial infection that an antibiotic will treat). A lot of people have misspoken… public ERs are required to SCREEN you for emergency medical conditions/active labor and STABILIZE you before you can be asked about your ability to pay or before you can be transferred unless the benefits of transfer outweigh the risks. They do not have to fully treat you,

ER is specialty care. We’re here to rule out what’s going to kill you, not necessarily find out all the answers. ERs are limited because there’s not any follow-up care the providers can do like your primary care can. They don’t follow you & know your health history. They can’t send out tests that take weeks to come back or coordinate referrals to multiple specialists & put all the data together for you. Using the ER inappropriately takes already-short resources away from true emergencies.

As a PCP, I find that 80% of the time a patient thinks they need antibiotics, the actually do not. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections and should be used sparingly due to the significant risks they have, esp when used for the wrong reasons.

Well, they can’t turn you away due to an EMTALA law. So hopefully they’re not doing that. That’s illegal. I worked in the ER for a decade. Sometimes depending on staffing they are able to fast track you, but that’s not always the case. There are so many things happening behind the scenes that patients don’t see; understaffed, boarding inpatient or psych patients which occupies a room & takes up staff. So it doesn’t mean we don’t want to see you.

Are they turning you away as in refusing to see you? Or just not seeing you as fast as you want to be seen or doing the tests and treatments you want? Likely your doc office is saying that if you cannot wait until they have an appointment available, go to the ER, the ER is saying you don’t have an emergency so you’re waiting hours, they are treating your immediate needs only (because that’s what they are for) they are not giving antibiotics for your non-bacterial condition.