ED Management – November 1, 2003
November 1, 2003
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It’s not business as usual: You can fight patient surges with an aggressive plan
Its been such a slow morning in your emergency department that youve actually been able to catch up on paperwork. Then three new patients arrive within minutes of each other. Then another six patients come in, one right after the other. Before you can finish triaging them, three more trudge in the door. -
‘Red flag’ conditions prompt response to surge in volume
These are excerpts from the policy on how the emergency department at the Medical College of Georgia Medical Center in Augusta responds to surges in patient volume: -
Kid-friendly waiting areas in ED boost satisfaction
Making your EDs waiting area more child-friendly can have a tremendous impact on patient satisfaction, make your department more of a draw for children and their parents, and even ease staffs stress when caring for the youngest patients, according to ED managers who have remodeled with children in mind. -
TVs and video games critical to keep kids happy, distracted
Consider making your ED more kid-friendly with these tips from Janice Frohman, MS, RN, administrative director for emergency services at WakeMed in Raleigh, NC, and Betty Jo Torres, RN, clinical director of the ED at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, CA: -
Heart care methods put ED in top 5%, can help others
The same strategies that landed the emergency department at Albany (NY) Medical Center in the top 5% for overall acute care of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in a national study can be used successfully in any ED, says an Albany ED physician. But be forewarned: Some interdepartmental diplomacy is key. -
Research shows ED case management saves dollars
ED Management has learned that researchers are about to release new data confirming the benefits of a case management strategy heralded three years ago as a way to decrease the cost of treating repeat patients in the ED. -
EMTALA Q & A
What can we say to an ambulance crew who bring a patient to our hospital when we think the patient would be better cared for at another facility? If we have a good reason, can we tell them to take the patient elsewhere without risking an EMTALA violation? -
Journal Reviews
Accuracy of screening for inhalational anthrax after a bioterrorist attack; Trends in hospitalization after injury: Older women are displacing young men -
Disclosure concerns and fears of potential litigation prompt options to midcycle self-assessment reporting
One component of the new accreditation process the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will launch next year has some ED managers wondering about potential legal exposure. -
Spell it out: Avoid easily misread abbreviations
It was a tragic story that received national media attention: A 9-month-old died of a morphine overdose administered in a hospital, and the error was traced back to an unseen decimal point in a physicians order. -
2003 Salary Survey Results
Times still are tough for both physicians and nurses in emergency medicine when it comes to income and career opportunities, but there could be reason for optimism if the national economy continues its upswing. -
Trauma Reports Supplement: ED Thoracotomy Revisited: A Complete Reassessment of its Past, Present, and Future