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Blog Author: Dr. Dennis Kuo
I’ve worked on both sides of the aisle…in primary care and in emergency rooms. It’s always interesting to get perspectives of families in both places. Children don’t usually wait until Monday morning to get sick.
One thing we often ask in the emergency room setting after hours is whether the family has called their physician before they brought their child in. There are times when it is certainly impractical for the family to call their child’s physician, such as if the child had a febrile seizure and the family calls 911. But a good chunk of what is seen in emergency room settings can be managed at home until the doctor’s office opens the next day, such as a toddler with a fever of 102 who is drinking well. Certainly I wouldn’t expect parents to automatically know this unless they ask, but this is where calling your own doctor after hours comes in.
I’ve been thinking about this because I saw a child in the emergency room recently whose parents told me they hadn’t called their physician, saying they felt physicians are much more likely to just automatically say “go to the emergency room” than in prior years. In effect, they figured they knew what the answer was going to be, so they didn’t bother. Now, I can’t speak as to how true this really is, but speaking as a primary care pediatrician, the vast majority of us really do want you to call if you have any questions, and ideally before you decide that you have to use the emergency room. Most children are far better off resting home and seeing their own physician that knows them in the morning.
It’s always worth, when selecting your child’s doctor, knowing how to get in touch with a doctor after hours. Here are some questions to ask: How do I get in touch with a doctor after hours? Who will I speak with - a nurse, a physician, both? How many other physicians cover the practice? What are the hours when I will get the after-hour line? How long should it take for a physician to call me back? What emergency room will you refer my child to, if that happens?