Unimed Poços director urges correct use of Brazil's emergency services

Mário Augusto Krugner Lopes, clinical director of Hospital Unimed Poços de Caldas, explained that patients should choose between a routine medical consultation and the Pronto Atendimento (emergency department) based on symptom severity. He emphasized that “each situation must be analyzed individually” and highlighted the role of the risk classification system, which “identifies quickly the most serious cases and gives them priority, regardless of arrival order.”

He also stressed preventive measures for the winter season, such as vaccination, hand hygiene, ventilation and respiratory etiquette to reduce respiratory virus spread. A parallel health guide listed the signs that warrant immediate emergency care—heart attack, stroke, severe breathing difficulty, major trauma, high fever in infants, serious allergic reactions, and mental‑health crises—and described the main types of emergency units, including pediatric emergency rooms.