Emergency Room Forms?

I took a coworker to the ER a couple of weeks ago. They asked her:

Name, phone number, address, workplace, name and phone number of person to contact in the event of Bad Things, and for her drivers license and insurance info.

She was pretty out of it so the receptionist there filled out everything for her.

There's sure to be a consent form to sign, though you may not remember signing it.

Yep, all of those. I went about 2 weeks ago -- At the front desk they didn't even ask me why I was there. Just insurance, DL, have you been here before, pay the copay, and sign here. They were ill-equipped to deal with the fact that I couldn't actually sign it (injury to writing arm). Very irritating.

The intern asked other q's about physical stuff, but he filled out the forms.

On the no ID thing--depends on the hospital. Big city for-profit med centers can be pretty cynical and willing to make you verify identity ASAP. One point would be whether or not you'd ever been a pt there before-- then if you can verify the previous info, you'll be much farther ahead/more believable.

I remember needing to sign a HIPAA form, insurance papers, and if I recall correctly, something like a living will-- which the admitting clerk assured me was standard procedure and not related to any diagnosis she'd heard. No one asked for my ID but I did give an insurance card.

Scrawler said:

I remember needing to sign a HIPAA form, insurance papers, and if I recall correctly, something like a living will-- which the admitting clerk assured me was standard procedure and not related to any diagnosis she'd heard. No one asked for my ID but I did give an insurance card.

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Holy crap! What a moment to pull that one on you!!!

I was there last week. I had to fill out a form at the desk saying why I was there, name, phone, emergency contact info. Then after I was in a room, the had someone come back and take my insurance, and I had to sign a consent to treat form. Wasn't asked for ID, ever.

Hope that helps!

Depends on the state and the hospital, if private or city-operated. Also would be asked about drug use, allergies to drugs, medical history.

SideKicker said:

Hey all,

So my question is: when someone is admitted to the ER, what kind of forms do you have to fill out? What information do they ask for?

Thanks!
sk

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It depends on how you arrive at the ER, and your medical condiiton on arrival. If you come in unconscious or seriously wounded, they band you and call you John/Jane Doe unitl you are in shape to answer the questions.

Usual questions, on one or more forms:

Name, address, phone, next of kin, insurance? , employer

Chief complaint, date of onset, how it happened (if trauma), meds you are taking, allergies, medical history

Also to be signed:
Permission to treat, and in the USA, privacy acknowledgement form, may also be asked to designate a temporary medical power of atty person should you need one when you are unable to make your own decisions.

The following is NOT an actual answer to the OP's question. I just felt like sharing.




When I was 20 years old, I walked (staggered) into the emergency room of a rural hospital (not the absolute boondocks, but pretty close). It was about 4:30 in the afternoon on a Friday and the whole ER was really quiet (a ghost town of inactivity). I was wheezing very heavily, my eyes were bloodshot, my throat was swollen, and I was convinced I was having a generalized allergic reaction to something. I found out later that the correct description is an anaphalactic reaction --which I didn't realize at the time is capable of eventually leading to anaphalactic shock.Now I never had an allergic reaction before, but this had all the earmarks that I had heard about through my TV/couch potato education on such things. Too bad my TV-education was so incomplete because I might have gotten myself to the ER a lot sooner had I known I was capable of dying from this.

As I walked in, I saw a receptionist sitting behind a desk, and then these two guys (two male nurses I later found out) were leaning over the desk laughing with her (like I said, the place was dead, so they were just shootin' the breeze). Now I didn't want to be rude and interrupt their pleasant conversation, so I approached very slowly and hovered about five feet away, waiting for a lull in their conversation that would allow me to interject. But my wheezing was very very loud and so they all turned to look. The two male nurses were absolutely mortified at my apearance, but the receptionist put on her "pencil-pushing beurocrat" expression and asked: "Can I help you?"

I replied as politely as I could with a very strained and raspy voice: "I'm not sure but I think I might be having an allergic reaction."

She immediately produced the standard stack of The Forms, handed them forth with a clipboard, and said: "Please fill these out and--" but then one of the male nurse raised his hand in protest and said to her: "uhhhh....... NO!" And then he turned to me with his index finger and said: "You come with me NOW!"

I was ushered into a treatment room in less than ten seconds. They had me lie down on the gurney and covered me with a bunch of super-heated blankets that were so warm they felt like they'd just come out of the dryer (I guess to keep me from going into shock). About three minutes later a doctor came in and gave me an injection (I guess that epinephrine stuff). I was totally fine within maybe ten minutes of the injection.



I think I eventually did fill out all those forms about two hours later after my family arrived. But I will never forget that male nurse rescuing me from the dreaded forms (and possibly from an early grave).

One of my co-workers severed some arteries in his hand, and when asked to fill out the forms, took off the towel he was holding on the wound and started dripping onto the forms, then said, "Tell me when you have enough." He was seen real soon.

I think it depends on how big an emergency - when I went in with a cut on my head, they asked questions and I sat and answered, signed papers, gave them DL and insurance card to copy.
When I went in with a life threatening situation with my son when he was an infant, they didn't get around to asking me for that information until they stablized him and were preparing to admit him into PICU.
At that time, I had new insurance and didn't have a card. I gave them the business card of the person in my HR, and they filled out all the papers in their computer, I just had to answer simple questions.