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Health care has lagged behind other industries when it comes to leveraging the power of information technology (IT). However, in the race to catch up, which has been accelerated by $20 billion in federal stimulus dollars, ergonomists warn that hospitals and other health care entities are not giving adequate consideration to the potential for IT-related musculoskeletal injuries.
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The emergency medicine community has pushed hard against complaints that too many patients with non-urgent needs are being seen in the ED, but there is little doubt that so-called super-utilizers patients who come to the ED regularly for one reason or another are not receiving the kind of care they need in the most appropriate setting.
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Since mid-2004, The Joint Commission (TJC) has held all accredited hospitals to task for enforcing use of the Universal Protocol (UP), a practice designed to improve procedural safety by having clinicians go through a three-step process to insure that when they perform a procedure, they are performing the right procedure, on the right patient, in the right place.
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After a few mild seasons, the flu packed a wallop this year, straining resources in hospitals across the country and forcing some EDs to go on diversion during peak periods.
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he American College of Surgeons in 2008 released the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) updates (eighth edition) with recommendations based on evidence-based medicine in addition to the expert consensus.
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For the past few years, the ED at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, PA, has seen double-digit increases in patient volume. The surging demand has been difficult, to say the least. And by early 2012, administrators realized it was time for a change in course.
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In the wake of the horrific massacre of young children by a disturbed gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, there has been a national discussion about what the country can do to curb such senseless acts of violence.
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No one wants to see the ED used inappropriately, but it can be particularly frustrating when patients keep coming back with problems that never seem to get resolved.
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Medical record cloning is rapidly becoming a target of Medicare audits as more hospitals and medical practices move to electronic medical records (EMRs). As the health care industry has realized significant advantages from use of EMRs, documentation has drawn increasing governmental attention due to the increase in charges.
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With their hectic schedules and demanding work responsibilities, emergency physicians are particularly vulnerable to symptoms of burnout. One study showed that more than half of emergency providers reported at least one symptom of burnout when they were asked to fill out a survey tool used to measure burnout more than any other type of provider.