My visit to the ER yesterday

[magical thyme]

111. "then it's the JOB of the ER doc to form a relationship, don't you think?"

Actually, no, it's not. Relationships form over time and that generally is something lacking in an ER environment. The relationship between doctor and patient in the ER is, by its nature, minimal. That doesn't mean the doctor doesn't do as much as possible to understand what is going on with the patient. That can include their poverty, as it relates to their illness. But they have no baseline history, which can make diagnosis and treatment very challenging.

The job of the ER doc is to figure out what is wrong with a patient about whom they frequently have zero medical history, and keep that person alive and get them as comfortable as possible.

That said, it is not the doctor's job to collect payment or know the patient's insurance situation. It is only to treat the patient.

The people doing the money thing are administration. And it seems like the hospital in question has shitty policies. I'll bet if the treating doctor knew how the high BP (or any other) patient was treated by administration, the doctor would not be happy.

(And I agree that the poster in question didn't phrase that post in a very acceptable way.)