Saturday Health & Wellness

When It Feels Urgent: Understanding the Difference Between Your Concern and Medical Urgency

Dear Friends,

Every day, I speak with patients who are in pain and anxious about their health.

The hard part is that almost every patient will stress that their situation is urgent.

And of course it is.

When you are the person living with pain, losing mobility, frightened by new symptoms or unable to live your normal life, your need feels urgent.

You want help.

You want answers.

Most of all, you want someone to understand that you cannot continue living this way.

There was a time when you could call your primary care physician, explain what was happening and be told to come into the office. If the situation was serious enough, your doctor might tell you to head to the hospital and meet you there.

Doctors even made house calls.

Healthcare is very different today.

Now, this is just my opinion, but sometimes I feel that our healthcare system is overflowing with patients while there are not enough doctors, medical staff, hospital rooms, equipment and financial resources to keep up with the demand.

Federal workforce projections show that physician shortages are expected across most medical specialties in the years ahead. Health Resources and Services Administration

Think about the COVID-19 pandemic we just lived through.

Hospitals faced shortages of rooms, medical staff, personal protective equipment, ventilators and other critical supplies. The CDC has documented the enormous strain that staffing and supply shortages placed on healthcare facilities. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

I worked at a rehabilitation hospital in Las Vegas that had to take in COVID patients.

I watched people die and then be taken out in black body bags.

I watched families sit outside in lawn chairs, trying to remain as close as possible to the people they loved because they could not be inside with them.

Hard decisions had to be made during that medical crisis.

Healthcare workers were pushed beyond what anyone thought they could handle. They had to determine who needed immediate care while working with limited staff, space and supplies.

That was a medical emergency in every sense of the word.

Now, let me bring this conversation back to today.

I work with specialty surgeons.

Many people may not realize that surgeons are not sitting in clinic five days a week waiting for appointments. Some may spend two days seeing patients in clinic and three days performing surgery.

They must also compete with other surgical teams for operating-room availability.

So, how does a specialty clinic determine whose medical condition is more urgent than another’s?

That can be a very hard call.

Clinicians consider the patient’s symptoms, physical examination, medical history, vital signs, laboratory results, imaging, test findings and whether the condition is rapidly worsening or creating an immediate risk of permanent harm.

Imaging is important, but it does not always explain the full severity or source of a person’s pain.

A scan may show significant changes in someone with manageable symptoms, while another person may be struggling terribly even though the imaging does not appear as severe as expected.

That does not mean the person’s pain is not real.

It means the clinical team must put all the pieces together.

What Do Medical Clinics Do?

Medical clinics triage.

They determine which patients have emergency warning signs, which require an expedited appointment and which can safely wait for the next available opening.

That decision is not meant to say that one person’s suffering matters more than another’s. It is an attempt to determine who is at the greatest immediate medical risk.

The person in terrible pain may feel forgotten while someone with a less painful—but medically dangerous—condition is moved ahead of them.

That is difficult to accept when you are the one waiting.

What Can Patients Do?

If your condition feels urgent but has not been classified as medically urgent:

• Clearly explain what has changed since your last evaluation.
• Describe what you can no longer do—not only how much it hurts.
• Report new weakness, falls, loss of function or rapidly worsening symptoms.
• Ask which warning signs should send you to urgent care or the emergency department.
• Complete requested labs, tests and imaging as soon as possible.
• Schedule the follow-up appointment needed to review those results.
• Ask to be placed on the cancellation list.
• Keep a short record of your symptoms, dates and functional changes.
• Ask what you can safely do while you wait.
• Continue following up respectfully when your condition changes.

If you experience sudden or severe symptoms—such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, confusion, sudden weakness, loss of consciousness or sudden severe pain—call 911 or seek emergency care. MedlinePlus: Recognizing Medical Emergencies

Please remember that repeatedly using the word “urgent” may not change the clinic’s medical determination.

Providing clear information about what has changed can help the clinical team reevaluate your situation.

Instead of saying only:

“My condition is urgent.”

Try explaining:

“Since my last appointment, I can no longer walk without support.”

“I have developed new weakness.”

“My symptoms are progressing quickly.”

“I can no longer safely manage the stairs in my home.”

“I understand that my imaging was reviewed, but my ability to function has significantly changed.”

Those details help paint a clearer medical picture.

Patients deserve compassion, communication and a clear understanding of what happens next.

Medical teams also carry the difficult responsibility of making decisions with limited appointments, limited operating-room time and more patients asking for help than the system can immediately accommodate.

Both realities can be true:

Your pain is real.

Your fear is real.

Your need for help is real.

And your condition may still not meet the medical criteria for emergency or expedited treatment.

So, what do you do?

You remain informed.

You report meaningful changes.

You ask direct questions.

You complete the testing needed to move your care forward.

You learn the warning signs that require emergency care.

And you continue advocating for yourself—clearly, respectfully and consistently.

Because not being classified as medically urgent does not mean that you do not matter.

It means you need a safe plan for what comes next.

What Can You Control While You Wait?

While you are waiting for your much-needed medical appointment, be mindfully aware that there may still be parts of your health that you can take control of.

Ask yourself:

• Do I need to drink more water, if I have not been placed on a fluid restriction?
• Do I need more rest?
• Do I need to pay closer attention to what I consume?
• Do I need safe, purposeful movement?
• Do I need to learn how to relax, breathe, pray or meditate?

These choices do not replace medical evaluation or treatment. But they can help us care for our minds and bodies while we wait for the next step.

There are things we can do, even while we are waiting for that much-needed appointment.

Remain aware.

Remain involved.

Do what you safely can.

Your health starts with you.

Let’s talk about it.

Have you ever felt that your medical situation was urgent, but the healthcare system did not respond with the same sense of urgency?

What did you do while you waited?

Lady Flava Wellness 🌻