By Mary Engrav, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Children’s Emergency Care at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland.
By its very definition, an emergency is an unplanned event. While emergencies may be unavoidable, a little advance preparation can make an ER visit easier.
The ER staff will ask for a brief summary of your child’s medical history. I often find that the child’s primary caregiver (usually the mother) can readily provide this information without a thought; however, others (such as the father) generally have no idea.
To avoid this problem, both parents should be up-to-date on their children’s medical histories. It makes a lot of sense for both parents to keep a list of each child’s allergies, medicines and basic health history in their wallets.
That list should also be given to the babysitter along with a written statement signed by the parents giving permission to treat the child. (Of course, we will treat any child without waiting for a note if the child is dangerously ill or in severe pain.)
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