ED Management – May 1, 2003
May 1, 2003
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Will your ED have staff quarantined for SARS? Brace yourself for the worst
Imagine being told to send home almost one-third of your ED staff with absolutely no advance notice and those technicians, nurses, and physicians being off the schedule for several days. Thats exactly what happened to an ED manager at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. -
SARS: What U.S. hospitals can learn from Canada
Hospital clinicians in the United States are watching with grave concern as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) a rapidly emerging infection with unclear treatment options strikes the health care system of their Canadian colleagues. -
Limit staff’s contact with possible SARS patients
In a hectic and crowded ED, it is a daunting challenge to limit the number of individuals who have contact with a potential severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patient. -
Are your ED staff up to date on SARS information?
ED staff at William Beaumont Hospital are asked the following questions to assess their knowledge about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). -
Have your security staff screen patients for SARS
The following is a protocol used by security staff at William Beaumont Hospital to screen all patients arriving by any means, except ambulance, with suspected SARS before they enter the ED. -
APCs: Lack of knowledge can hurt your bottom line
This is the second of a two-part series on improving ED reimbursement under ambulatory payment classifications (APCs). This month, we cover staff physicians, supplies and medications, local medical review policies, and proper use of modifiers. -
Know these facts before facing smallpox vaccine
Ever since ED managers learned that their staff could be among those to receive the smallpox vaccine, there have been concerns about risks to both staff and patients, and staffing problems of epic proportions. -
Smallpox legislation passed
At the start of the smallpox vaccination program, there were concerns about compensation for individuals harmed by the vaccine, but Congress now has passed the Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003. -
EMTALA Q & A
If a triage nurse sees a patient and performs vital signs, then asks the patient to take a seat, is the nurse able to tell the patient how long the expected wait might be? -
Cost Saving Tip: Save $100,000 by using saline locks instead of IV
By putting in saline locks instead of intravenous (IV) lines, you save the cost of IV fluids that often are not needed, says Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD. -
Chest pain centers now can be accredited
Whether your facility has a chest pain center or not, this news will be of keen interest to you as an ED manager: There is now an accreditation process for chest pain centers. -
ED Accreditation Update: Continuous compliance: Starting in 2006, your ED must be prepared for unannounced accreditation surveys
If your emergency department is in the process of preparing for your hospitals triennial accreditation survey this year, or will have one in 2004 or 2005, it will be the last time you have to deal with the stressful ramp-up. -
ED Accreditation Update: CMS, JCAHO now using same Life Safety Code
Emergency departments (EDs) received some welcome news in January when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted the same edition of the Life Safety Code referenced in the Joint Commission standards. The change affects EDs accredited by the Joint Commission that receive Medicare reimbursement from CMS. -
ED Accreditation Update: Quality, timely care: An ED’s keys to compliance
It sounds simple enough: When surveyors look at key accreditation areas, the performance of an emergency department (ED) boils down to whether the ED gives patients quality care in a timely manner. But when patient load and staffing dont mesh, or when concentration on the disease means the individual is ignored, the simple expectation of quality care in a timely manner may be a challenge. -
ED Accreditation Update: Accreditation Q & A
What should we expect during a Joint Commission patient safety and medications use interview? -
Trauma Reports Supplement: From Stingers to Fangs - Evaluating and Managing Bites and Envenomations
Whether a bite or sting results in an anaphylactic reaction, impressive local effects, or a life-threatening systemic reaction, the emergency physician must be able to institute appropriate and effective treatment. Emergency physicians also must be able to recognize clinical envenomation patterns, since some critically ill patients may not be able to convey the details of the attack. Since all areas of the country are represented in the envenomation statistics, all emergency physicians should be familiar with identification and stabilization of envenomated patients and know what resources are available locally for further management of these often complicated patients.