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Under a new policy instituted in May 2008, patients in the ED at Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland who have minor ailments must now pay part of their bill before being treated or be referred to one of MetroHealth's 16 clinics in the area. They are guaranteed an appointment within 72 hours.
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Given the findings of a recent study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine,1 ED managers should take immediate steps to improve communications with patients, says Bruce Janiak, MD, FACEP, FAAP, professor of emergency medicine, Medical College of Georgia, and vice chair of the ED at MCG Health Medical Center, both in Augusta.
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In an age of high patient volumes, overcrowding, and prolonged patient stays in emergency departments (EDs), the clinician is challenged to be both efficient and effective on a daily basis.
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This is a two-part series on liability risks regarding antibiotic choice in the emergency department. This month, we report on liability risks involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
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In August of this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published final rules revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). These regulations also contain policy changes related to a hospital's obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA).
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A man with chest pain tells you that he uses cocaine and is positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), then asks you to not tell his girlfriend who is about to enter the room. What are you most likely to be sued for: if you disclose the patient's status, or if you don't tell and his partner gets infected?
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If you're not collecting accurate, complete information in a "patient-centric" way, you're not maximizing either cash collection or patient satisfaction.
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An enterprise-wide master patient index is used at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, a system of six hospitals, several off-campus diagnostic and treatment centers, free-standing surgical centers, and urgent care centers.
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New associates starting right out of school or from some other service industry bring limited or no knowledge of the health care industry to the table. They may or may not have well-developed computer skills. As for medical terminology, it's likely to be a foreign language to them.