Where to seek emergency care.

Consider some simple guidelines before heading to a hospital emergency room for quick care, suggests Robert L. Norris, head of Stanford (Calif.) University Hospital's emergency department. "Go to the closest emergency department if you are having trouble breathing, are suffering uncontrolled bleeding, or are suffering immediate symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pains. Emergency departments are specifically equipped and the staff is usually specially trained to deal with these life-threatening emergencies. Few private offices, or even community clinics, have equipment needed to restart a stopped heart or to open an airway to enable a patient to resume breathing.

"If in doubt, it's always safest to come to the emergency department and, in some communities, it might be the most appropriate source of most medical care." Generally though, if you need medication for an infection or if your child needs a few stitches for a nasty, but not life-threatening, injury after falling off a bicycle, a clinic or even your private physician's office may be the most efficient place to seek care.

"It's important to remember that the emergency department is not a substitute for your family physician or clinic, where your doctor has your medical history, understands your needs...