Emergency Medicine Topics
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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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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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Malpractice Lawsuits Allege Wrongful Prolongation of Life
The top problems in these cases are charting and communication among caregivers.
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NIH Funds Research Network on Harm Reduction
Grants will support scientists studying novel tactics to prevent opioid overdose deaths.
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Several Groups ‘Deeply Concerned’ About AHRQ’s ED Diagnostics Report
Frontline providers take issue with references cited and data interpretation, among other problems.
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Working Collaboratively with Law Enforcement at Trauma Patient’s Bedside
Trauma patients and law enforcement might arrive together, raising multiple ethical issues — and a potential conflict with clinicians. While some clinicians say law enforcement should never be present on trauma units, others think law enforcement needs unfettered access. The answer likely is somewhere in the middle.
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Unprecedented Strain on EDs Predates COVID-19 Pandemic
The American College of Emergency Physicians and other groups sent a letter to the White House in which they declared the ED boarding problem a “public health emergency.” The groups asked the Biden administration “to convene a summit of stakeholders from across the healthcare system to identify immediate and long-term solutions to this urgent problem.”
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Malpractice Outcome Hinges on ‘Reasonableness’ of Wait Time
To prevail in malpractice litigation involving a leave without being seen patient, the patient must prove the ED’s failure to treat him or her within the time frame of the visit violated the standard of care. Also, the attorney must prove his or her client suffered harm as a result of that violation.
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LWBS Patients Pose Risks for EDs Under EMTALA
Solid documentation is the best weapon against accusations a clinician violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act and a patient who left the ED without being seen who files a malpractice lawsuit.
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Leverage Rounding, Team-Based Interventions to Address Frontline Burnout
A Texas-based health system looks at employee well-being through a quality and safety lens, directly connecting worker well-being to the organization’s efforts to improve patient safety.