02/12/2026
🚑 Emergency rooms are doing everything they can — and they should be focused on the most serious cases.
A recent Canadian report highlights that many patients visit emergency rooms for issues that aren’t life-threatening, and some end up leaving before being treated due to long waits — not because of a lack of effort, but because ERs are designed to prioritize the most critical cases.
(Source: Montreal Economic Institute)
ER physicians, nurses, and staff work tirelessly under immense pressure. Their role is to save lives — heart attacks, strokes, major trauma. They shouldn’t have to manage conditions that can be safely treated elsewhere.
That’s where urgent care plays an important role.
At UrgentMD, we focus on urgent but non-emergency issues, helping:
• Patients get timely care
• ERs stay focused on critical cases
• The healthcare system work more efficiently overall
It’s not ER versus urgent care — it’s about the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
👉 Read the article:
https://www.iedm.org/too-many-canadians-are-leaving-emergency-rooms-untreated/
The number of patients leaving Quebec’s emergency rooms without being treated is rising, reveals this MEI report. “These patients are not leaving because they feel better, but because the system is failing them,” says Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and author of the report. “Tho...