The Chief Complaints

A healthcare worker holding a clipboard and pen in a hospital corridor with two blurred nurses or doctors in the background.

ER visits do not begin with diagnoses, they begin with symptoms

More than 130 million people visit the ER each year in the U.S. Every visit begins with a symptom, not a diagnosis. This section looks at the most common reasons people come to the ER and explains how doctors figure out what’s serious, what’s not, and what happens next.

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