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Of the many different guidelines on early sepsis care in the ED, some specific recommendations remain controversial. A recently released report addresses many of these issues.
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Do ED patients complain because they are seeking some type of compensation, or is it really about wanting to be heard? It can be difficult to hear negative feedback, but complaint data are a good way to identify failures in the diagnostic process, according to a recent analysis.
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Considering the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in adolescents and young adults, should pediatric EDs screen for STDs when these patients present to the ED? From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, the answer is yes, according to a team of researchers who examined this issue recently.
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While STD clinics and primary care clinicians detect and treat many of these cases, there is no question EDs play an outsize role in caring for patients with STDs, particularly among disadvantaged populations. However, evidence suggests many EDs are not using all the tools at their disposal to facilitate treatment and curb transmission.
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As COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns begin to recede, long-standing health issues that were overshadowed during the crisis have re-emerged — in particular, the number of patients presenting to medical facilities with violence-related injuries.
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Smart infusion pumps are nearly ubiquitous in acute care settings across the country today, representing a big step forward in infusion safety. However, errors still can occur. The Joint Commission notes errors usually are attributable to a combination of human and technical risk factors.
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Research has shown a highly personalized intervention designed for hospitalized patients with comorbid substance use problems can significantly reduce subsequent readmissions and ED visits.
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In the continuing tussle over whether providers should have to obtain an X-waiver to prescribe buprenorphine, the Biden administration has staked out some middle ground, at least for now.
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To effectively address diagnostic improvement, clinicians should understand some concepts around how people reason and the common pitfalls that can lead to errors.
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Preventing diagnostic errors has proven difficult. Many of these errors are captured through passive reporting, and systems are not in place to help clinicians learn from such errors. Using active surveillance could uncover more errors, bring those to the attention of clinicians, and provide a teaching moment (not a punishment moment) to prevent those errors from repeating.
