Emergency Medicine General
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Accept Responsibility for Boarded Patients, or Face Suits
If a nurse asks the emergency physician (EP) whether an arterial blood gas (ABG) is needed because a boarded patients pulse oximetry is dropping, a busy EPs response might be to tell the nurse to order the test and let the admitting physician know about it. -
ED Peer Review Process IDs Trends Before Suits Occur
A new peer review and quality improvement process at the University of Michigan Hospital and Health Systems in Ann Arbor methodically samples patient safety indicators in the emergency department (ED) to spot trends that signal problems. -
Psych Patient Leaves AMA? Mental Capacity Will Be Issue
Malpractice litigation often arises from a psychiatric patient discharged from the ED against medical advice (AMA), according to Robert Berg, JD, an attorney at Epstein Becker Green in Atlanta, GA. -
New ED Protections Already Challenged
In Georgia, statutory protections for emergency physicians (EPs) have survived two constitutional challenges. -
One in Three ED Suits Involve Poor Communication
Can patients truthfully claim that ED staff ignored their complaints and communicated poorly with one another? -
ED-based screening programs for hepatitis C (HCV) highlight significant opportunity to identify patients, prevent downstream costs/complications
New data suggest there is a huge opportunity for EDs to identify patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and link them into care before downstream complications lead to higher medical costs and adverse outcomes. -
Any changes in ED utilization hinge on delivery system reform
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As the prescribing practices of emergency providers come under enhanced scrutiny, watch for red flags of drug-seeking behavior
With deaths from opioid medication-related overdoses reaching epidemic proportions, researchers at two academic medical centers in Boston have identified key characteristics or red-flags that patients may be exhibiting drug-seeking behavior. -
Young male athletes at heightened risk for use, misuse of opioid medications
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In review of ED utilization reduction strategies, data regarding impact on safety, outcomes in short supply
To gather insight on an array strategies used to curb ED utilization, investigators conducted a systematic review of five types of interventions.