If you've made a sudden trip to the emergency room and are now heading home, take a moment to think about something besides all that poking and prodding: Are you sure you know what just happened and what comes next?

There are approximately 115 million people who visit ERs annually in the United States, statistics suggest. But new research finds that more than 75 percent of emergency room patients leave the hospital not knowing what's wrong with them or what they should do about it.

SATURDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) -- A few simple safety precautions can help ensure your summer fun doesn't lead to the hospital emergency department, says Dr. Jeff Kalina, associate director of emergency medicine at the Methodist Hospital in Houston.

By Alan Mozes
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term buildup of radiation resulting from repeated emergency room X-rays and scans may be placing some patients at an increased risk for developing cancer, new research suggests.

Discovered an interesting article in the New England Journal of Medicine about healthcare and undocumented immigrants.

The author of the article, a doctor, says “researchers estimated that undocumented adult immigrants, who make up about 3.2% of the population, account for only about 1.5% of U.S. medical costs.”

My toddler stopped breathing last night, his lips turned blue, he was shaking and his eyes rolled back into his head. It was the scariest 60 seconds of my life.

I called 911, as my husband ran my limp son into the living room. It took 20 RINGS for anyone to pick up the phone!

Within minutes, the paramedics and then EMT were at our house. By this time, our son was smiling and waiving at everyone. He thought it was funny that there were so many people (8 of us) in his tiny nursery.

WASHINGTON - Like every U.S. hospital emergency room, the one at Washington Hospital Center is overwhelmed — on any day patients lie on gurneys in the corridor, hooked up to monitors. Others wait for hours to see a doctor.

But next door to the old and crowded emergency department is a bright oasis of calm. Backed by a $2.2 million federal grant and drawing on 600 different ideas from a task force of experts, the hospital is putting in what emergency department chairman Dr. Mark Smith hopes will be a first draft of the emergency department of the future.

"It is frustrating. Many doctors do not see heart disease as a woman's disease. They don't look for it or treat it aggressively," said Dr. Holly Andersen at New York Presbyterian Hospital.