Be Upfront

It’s a good idea to be upfront about the specific condition you’re most concerned about when you come to the ER. I’ve had many conversations with patients who undergo an extensive workup in the ER for a condition I’m concerned about based on their symptoms. At the end of the visit, the patient or their family may ask a question that seems out of left field to me. I recall evaluating a patient with neurologic symptoms that suggested a possible stroke or other neurologic condition. At the end of the visit, the patient’s wife asked if I had checked the patient’s heart. I hadn’t done any cardiac evaluation because the symptoms they described didn’t raise any concerns about a heart condition. If we had discussed this at the beginning of the visit, we could have tailored the discussion and workup, and I could have addressed their concerns much sooner.