Diagnosing primary care issues in EM

[ChrisPAinED]

What are some issues you in EM diagnosis that you just feel like why I am I the one diagnosing this. For me those diagnosis are along the lines of strep, flu, arthritis, gastritis, and pregnancy. I like like all those should be diagnosed by primary care. Like some exceptions to those is flu with a lot of breathing troubles and maybe severe abd pain with pregnancy. But for the most part I just wonder why is someone in my ED room with joint pain. What are your diagnosis that you commonly diagnose in the emergency department and just wonder why. 

[ohiovolffemtp]

One of the realities of medicine is that PCP's often don't have acute visits available.  That combined with many patients' inability to simple symptom management leads to UC and ED visits for those sort of complaints.  ED visits for chronic complaints without acute changes seem harder to fathom, but again, how many patients don't have a PCP and live in areas where there aren't PCP's accepting new patients.

Another perspective is that many ED's need the numbers from these low acuity visits to stay open.