Primary Care Visits Can Help Those With A Fear Of Emergency Rooms
The emergency room is an important part of any medical facility because it helps to manage dangerous situations as they occur. However, many people are afraid of the emergency room and may avoid care when problems do develop. Those with this phobia may want to increase their primary care visits to compensate.
Fears of an Emergency Room May Be Dangerous
Those who fear treatment in an emergency room are not uncommon. The sometimes hectic and wild experience that occurs in these healthcare facilities can be disorienting, upsetting, and hard for some to handle. Unfortunately, this phobia can be a hard one for many to overcome and may be dangerous if they end up experiencing issues that require an emergency room to manage.
For example, they may try to ignore symptoms of a heart attack because they don't want to go to an emergency room. These actions can put a person's life at a needless risk but can be prevented in a few ways. Those who are scared of an emergency room may, for example, decide to go to a primary care center more often to get the help that they need to prevent the risk of emergency situations.
Ways a Primary Care Center Can Help
Primary care centers have been called "the backbone of the healthcare system" by many experts over the years. That's because these centers can serve a broad range of health needs and keep people out of the ER. They achieve this benefit by focusing on a person's level of overall health, discovering any issues that may be minor and treating them before they become major.
For example, a person with high blood pressure may be at risk for a heart attack that they may not want to get treated in an ER when it occurs. However, if they get their blood pressure treated with medicine and health changes, they can decrease their risk of heart attack. Steps like these help make primary care one of the best ways to avoid ER visits and ensure that individuals with this fear don't avoid care.
Even better, these primary care centers may also have access to psychological assessment and counseling that can help a person better understand why they are afraid of the emergency room. Then, these individuals can get treatment that walks them back from these fears and makes it easier for them to get emergency care when they need it the most.