emergency room

A man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center, which released him with no further treatment.

The 21-room, 15,000-square-foot freestanding ER facility, the hospital system's fourth, will help serve residents of north Sarasota County and south Manatee County.

In Broward, an ER doctor discharged a woman who had leaked amniotic fluid. She later miscarried in a public bathroom, was rushed to another hospital, placed on a ventilator and discharged after six days.

More facilities are partnering with private equity-backed firms to offer combined emergency and urgent care. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.

The cause is a rise in flu and respiratory illnesses coinciding with a growing population and the influx of seasonal residents and visitors.

A Pasco County mom tried to dispute an emergency room bill, but the hospital and collection agency refused to talk to her — because it was her child's name on the bill, not hers.

The many options — particularly urgent care and free-standing ERs — can make the head spin. The wrong choice can mean big bills and even poor outcomes. Facilities have little incentive to clear up the confusion.

A group of doctors trains health care providers to treat miscarriage in the emergency department. This could be increasingly important in states where abortion is outlawed.

The new 10,820-square-foot facility in southern Clay County is a full-service ER, with 11 patient rooms, imaging and lab services.

Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital’s charges — and provides a playbook for other consumers.