Emergency
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Sleep-promoting Interventions for Critically Ill Patients
ABSTRACT & COMMENTARY: Efforts have been made over the past couple of years to test and implement interventions in the ICU to promote sleep.
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The Joint Commission: Hospitals make strides on core measures with more achieving “top performer” status
With all the challenges that frontline health care providers have faced this year, from Ebola and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to the sweeping implementation of the Affordable Care Act, news from The Joint Commission (TJC) that hospitals are continuing to make significant strides on key quality measures was certainly welcome.
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Study: New approach to handoffs slashes errors, preventable adverse events; other medical centers move to implement the protocol
A new approach to hospital handoffs has shown it can significantly reduce medical errors as well as preventable adverse events. The approach, dubbed the I-PASS bundle, uses a mnemonic to alert providers to all the issues that need to be covered during a handoff, but also includes a written handoff tool, communication training, a sustainability campaign, and a process for feedback. -
Intriguing model significantly reduces boarding of psychiatric patients, need for inpatient hospitalization
Developers of the approach urge other communities to devise similar approaches, but funding is an issue
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Sickle Cell Emergencies and How to Handle Them: Standards of Care
Risk factors for developing acute chest syndrome include respiratory infections, treatment with opiates, and splinting due to chest or abdominal pain.
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Benefits of NIV in COPD Supported in Routine Clinical Practice
In a large cohort study, COPD patients managed with noninvasive ventilation had lower inpatient mortality compared to those managed with invasive ventilation.
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Multicenter QI Project Results in a 23% Reduction in Medical Errors
Implementation of a quality improvement project focused on handoffs reduced medical errors by 23% and preventable adverse events by 30%.
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Study: Education, training on proper splint technique needed in EDs, urgent care centers
A new study suggests that most of the splints applied in EDs and urgent care settings on pediatric patients with potential fractures are being placed improperly, leading to the potential for complications such as excessive swelling, blistering and other skin problems, and improper mobilization of the fracture. Researchers at the University of Maryland say this points to a need for better education and training of frontline practitioners on splinting techniques. Investigators plan to create and disseminate educational materials on correct splinting techniques for display in EDs and urgent care facilities. A second study is planned to evaluate the impact of these interventions.
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Use Screening Tools, Partnerships Care for IPV Victims
A study suggests that 72% of women with a history of intimate partner violence are not identified when they visit the ED for medical issues.
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Carolinas HealthCare system gets jump on potential for telepsychiatry
Long before the state of North Carolina decided to implement its statewide telepsychiatry program (NC-STeP), some health systems in the state were already delving into the approach. For instance, Charlotte, NC-based Carolinas HealthCare System was among the first to deploy telemedicine in the state, and the potential to use the technology for psychiatric consults was recognized early on, according to Brad Watling, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, system medical director at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. “It had some fits and starts … but over the last couple of years we have hit the ground running with it,” he says.