But only the first one they can get in contact with.
And that’s if they need to.
So like if you’ve never been to that hospital, don’t have an ID on you, nobody recognizes you, and your can’t ID yourself, that’s a John/Jane Doe situation. Even if they CAN identify you, unless they have some sort of record of emergency contacts they don’t have anyone to contact.
As a practical matter, how does that work if I’ve never been a patient at that hospital and am unconscious? There are a number of hospitals/health systems in my city that I’ve never been to (and others that I haven’t been to in a very long time, so any expirations would have passed). If I were to be transported to one by ambulance, how would they locate any emergency contact?
Or would I simply be at the mercy of the medical practitioners and their best efforts/judgements until I either wake up or die?
I’m in the US, and we can assume that I have my wallet/ID/insurance card/etc on me at the time.
They notify whoever is your emergency contact. You choose as an individual who is your emergency contact.
Which is my sister because my parents can fuck off.
But only the first one they can get in contact with.
And that’s if they need to.
So like if you’ve never been to that hospital, don’t have an ID on you, nobody recognizes you, and your can’t ID yourself, that’s a John/Jane Doe situation. Even if they CAN identify you, unless they have some sort of record of emergency contacts they don’t have anyone to contact.
As a practical matter, how does that work if I’ve never been a patient at that hospital and am unconscious? There are a number of hospitals/health systems in my city that I’ve never been to (and others that I haven’t been to in a very long time, so any expirations would have passed). If I were to be transported to one by ambulance, how would they locate any emergency contact?
Or would I simply be at the mercy of the medical practitioners and their best efforts/judgements until I either wake up or die?
I’m in the US, and we can assume that I have my wallet/ID/insurance card/etc on me at the time.
Does your state let you add an emergency contact when you get your driver’s licence?
If you’re unconscious, they’ll try to find next of kin. If they can’t, they’ll find some kind of advocate for you to work with the doctors