Balancing acts: emergency departments' search for a safety net

Crushing chest pain that won't go away? Go to the emergency department. Need a pregnancy test? Go to the emergency department. Anything in between? Don't worry-the emergency department will take care of it. As one patient puts it, "If you're willing to wait, they're willing to see you." Well, no more. Budgets are being slashed, and there are fewer doctors and nurses to help. What to do? Try "triage out," the latest trend to whisk patients through the emergency department doors.