What to Expect
First Evaluation
When you arrive in the Emergency Department, you will first have an evaluation by a registered nurse and a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. They will start your evaluation with a brief history and examination. They will ask you to describe why you are here. Let the provider know if you are in any pain.
In-Depth Evaluation and Treatment
You will be assigned a care provider (doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) for the remainer of your stay in the ED. This care team will decide if you need any tests or procedures. You may move to a different care area to wait for your test results.
Blood work and X-ray results take approximately two to three hours from the time the tests are completed; CT scan results take two to four hours, and MRI results take four to five hours.
Next Steps
Your ER care team will decide if you need additional tests or treatment. If it is safe for you to leave, you will be discharged. If any prescriptions are required, they will be sent electronically to a pharmacy for you or provided to you before you are discharged.
Telehealth Services in the Emergency Room
Express Care
If you are already in an ED at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, you can visit virtually with a clinician and significantly reduce your wait time.
TeleMSE
During the medical screening exam process at the beginning of the ED visit, a healthcare provider observes the triage process and can start orders for needed tests at the very beginning of the visit.
Telesitter
The telesitter program keeps a friendly set of eyes on patients who are at risk of falling and calls a nurse to bedside when there is danger of a fall.
Medication
Safety Pharmacy technicians use video connections with patients at the bedside to review home medications and help ensure medications are correctly administered. They make certain that a patient’s home medications are documented in the medical record and that any new medicines prescribed don’t conflict with the home medications.
Telepsychiatry Consultation
The telepsychiatry consultation program brings the specialist to the patient in the ED, rather than sending the patient to the specialist. Psychiatrists can now do emergency evaluations via telehealth making it easier to obtain the evaluation. Physicians across NewYork-Presbyterian can consult with psychiatrists on patient cases through live video. The psychiatrists can also see and speak with the patients to directly provide care. For more information, visit Inter-hospital Consults.