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Faster throughput can clear waiting rooms and boost patient satisfaction, but there are also instances where time-to-treatment can make a critical difference in outcomes.
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One new study suggests that crowding in the ED does not necessarily prevent patients who are having ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attacks from receiving needed treatment quickly.
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Like many EDs across the country, the ED at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, OR, sees its share of patients with urgent or primary care needs, and many of these patients frequent the ED 10 or more times a year.
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IRB directors who think their areas are safe from natural disasters should think again. Some U.S. IRBs learned the hard way that even in non-coastal cities and areas they can find their IRB offices underwater. Or they could experience earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires. And any research institution and IRB is at risk of an epidemic that leaves them short-staffed.
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Therapeutic misconception in clinical trials continues to be a significant concern for researchers and IRBs. Studies have shown that misunderstandings persist about the therapeutic value of research interventions among participants and even among research staff.
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IRB offices might improve their staff and IRB members' training and education if they provide an occasional refresher course on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines for the Conduct of Research Involving Human Subjects, also known as the Rules of Review.
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Practice-based researchers have long complained that IRBs don't understand their work, which is based in physicians' practices and often consists of low-risk activities such as chart reviews and surveys.
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[Editor's note: Wendy Lloyd, LPN, CCRP, CIP, regulatory affairs and compliance specialist, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, has compiled a list of frequent audit findings of the informed consent document process. She answers questions for IRB Advisor about these findings in this question and answer session.]