Solution for crowded emergency departments: laissez faire

"With the stand-alone ED's I was able to make the appointments on line, fill out the paperwork of a new patient, and be seen in less than 15 minutes after my arrival. Yes, I admit that 15 minutes probably isn't long enough of a wait to share in whatever upper respiratory illness is making the rounds like I would get sitting around in my old clinic's waiting room for 45 minutes to an hour. If I ever miss the experience, I can always go hang out in Wal-Mart."


"This development is no surprise to anyone who has spent Sunday night from 6pm to Monday morning at 9am in a hospital ER with an aunt with a broken hip and dementia, six hours on a Saturday afternoon waiting for someone to see a child's broken arm, or seven hours waiting for kidney stone diagnoses. The emergency medical system is broken. This is a symptom. Or a solution. We will see."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/53549?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-09-15&eun=g432148d0r

http://www.medpac.gov/documents/september-2015-meeting-presentation-emergency-department-services-provided-at-stand-alone-facilities.pdf?sfvrsn=0