Emergency Publication
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Many Patients Worried Health Plan Will Not Cover ED Visit
Patients, not staff, should initiate discussions regarding payment for services. Train staff to carefully document discussions with patients regarding billing or payment questions. Ensure staff members understand patients are never implicitly discouraged from seeking emergency care in the ED.
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Dangerously Understaffed EDs Can Legally Expose Hospital
If litigation occurs, providers are better served by testifying honestly about staffing levels and the ED’s capacity while avoiding opinions on how these factors affected their ability to provide adequate care.
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Researchers to Test Groundbreaking Treatment for Intracerebral Hemorrhage-Type Strokes
Clot-busting drugs can be used to treat patients with ischemic strokes, but there are no good pharmacological alternatives for patients with intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH). This is a concerning treatment gap because ICH-type stroke outcomes can be dire. The creators of a new trial are testing whether a drug already used in other applications can offer benefits to patients with ICH strokes.
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Palliative Care Guidelines Call for Equipping Frontline Providers to Meet Growing Need
As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing need for clinicians skilled in primary palliative care. Such skills include the ability to assess for need, engage in advance care planning discussions, and provide appropriate care for symptom management that aligns with patients’ wishes. Considering the volume of patients who access care through EDs annually, experts note emergency clinicians often are in position to provide primary palliative care to those with serious or life-threatening conditions.
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A More Effective Approach for Managing Behavioral Health Emergencies
Often, law enforcement officers and EMS crews are dispatched to the scenes of behavioral health emergencies. EMS might transport these patients to the ED. Others might be taken to jail. But in recent years, stakeholders in Dallas have looked closer at these scenarios. At a time when resources are stretched thin, hospital staff, police officers, and communities all are asking questions.
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Diagnosing and Managing Pediatric Foreign Body Ingestions: Part I
Pediatric foreign body ingestion comes with a dichotomous presentation to the ED — the child in extremis with a clear need for immediate intervention vs. the well-appearing child with unknown ingestion. This creates a challenge for the emergency medicine provider to use a combination of history, physical examination, different imaging modalities, and overall clinical picture to verify ingestion over aspiration and, furthermore, to determine whether there is any need for immediate intervention. The decision-making tree surrounding foreign body ingestion changes based on time course, type of object, location in the gastrointestinal tract, and size. Therefore, a regimented and practical approach to foreign body ingestions is warranted.
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Tearing Down Barriers to Medical Error Reporting
Lack of time, complex systems prevent staff from reporting medical errors, near-misses more often.
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A Critical Review of Potentially Deadly Pediatric Ingestions
It is imperative for the emergency provider to be aware of common agents that can cause life-threatening toxicity or death should accidental ingestions occur. This article focuses on substances that are potentially catastrophic if ingestions occur and how to manage them accordingly.
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HHS Highlights No Surprises Act Benefits as Implementation Date Looms, Concerns Linger
Biden administration touts consumer protections, but lawmakers and advocacy groups remain concerned about interim final rule language.
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Pediatric Tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a significant challenge to children's health. Barriers exist at multiple levels of the care system for MTB. Early recognition and involvement of MTB specialists is critical to facilitate the best outcome for pediatric patients. The authors provide a thorough review of the current standards for care of these challenging patients.