Emergency Medicine Topics
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Instituting Pediatric Readiness Standards Saves Lives
Emergency departments that fully adopted national guidelines reported lower mortality rates.
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Congress Formally Ends X-Waiver Requirement
Lawmakers remove this barrier to treating opioid use disorder.
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Malpractice Lawsuits Allege Wrongful Prolongation of Life
The top problems in these cases are charting and communication among caregivers.
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Multiple Legal Issues with ED End-of-Life Care
An attorney argues missing the opportunity to respect autonomy in care decision-making for a patient who no longer desires curative care should be considered a poor outcome.
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Some ED Patients Undergo Unwanted End-of-Life Care
Despite uncertainty, it is possible to provide value-concordant care in the ED. Identify those patients, and initiate decisions based on goals of care, not just by a default reflexive pathway. This could help improve patients’ experiences and outcomes broadly, by targeting the right treatments to the right patients.
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To Understand a Patient’s Housing Status, Ask the Right Questions
Staff at every point of contact should be alert to relevant patient needs, including housing status, food insecurity, and ability to pay. All these go into making medicine human.
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Effectively Intervening with Patients Facing Housing Instability
There is a moral and humanitarian case for healthcare organizations to engage on the housing issue, but there also is a business case.
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Trauma Patients at Risk for Developing Opioid Use Disorder
Better identification and referral of patients with opioid use disorder could enhance the quality and continuity of care these patients receive, while also reducing reliance on EDs and the crowding that ensues.
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EMS-Driven Protocol Delivers a Low-Barrier Pathway to OUD Treatment
What if pre-hospital providers were empowered to both initiate overdose patients onto medication-assisted treatment in the field and also schedule follow-up appointments for ongoing care?
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Concerned About Understaffing, ED Nurse Calls 911 for Help
Although ill-advised, this extreme move underscores healthcare providers' feelings of desperation amid ongoing staffing problems.