-
The ED at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City has virtually eliminated ambulance diversion; there were two diversions in June. It also has reduced its rate of patients leaving without being treated from 12% to 4%. Both achievements are thanks to a targeted program developed by a team representing the entire department.
-
Steady growth in Medicare dollars paid for outpatient observation services indicates that the introduction of "composite payments" in 2008 received the attention of hospitals. Medicare saw an increase of $73 million in payments for observation from 2007 to 2008.
-
While The Joint Commission has not introduced any new National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for 2010, that doesn't mean the clock has stopped on the implementation of earlier goals.
-
The electrocardiogram (ECG) and X-ray of a chest pain patient in his mid-50s were both normal when examined by the treating ED physician. However, the physician's shift ended before the patient's lab results were back. Based on the test results that were back, the oncoming ED physician discharged the patient as "chest pain, non-cardiac." Several hours later, the lab results came back with critical values.
-
Getting chest pain patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within an average of 83 minutes is no small accomplishment.
-
With the prospect of an H1N1 pandemic, "many stakeholders perceive that EMTALA [the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act] imposes significant restrictions on hospitals' ability to provide adequate care when EDs experience extraordinary surges in demand," according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Recognizing that fact, CMS has issued a fact sheet to allay those fears.
-
Pediatric hand injuries are common in the emergency department (ED), and may be challenging to manage. Children may be frightened and uncooperative, making a thorough and careful evaluation difficult.
-
The issue of drug-seeking is important for any health care provider, but can be of particular relevance to emergency department (ED) staff. This article analyzes the laws applicable to assessing and treating pain in the ED setting, and considers various strategies suggested in the literature for managing suspected drug-seeking behavior.
-
Inability to find an attorney who will take a malpractice case on a contingency fee basis. An inability to find an expert who can conclude to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the ED physician breached the standard of care or proximately caused injury/death. Strong defense experts. Strong testimony from defendant physicians. Damaging admissions by the plaintiff's experts at deposition. A decision by the patient or family to resolve the matter now without going through the ordeal of a trial.
-
The NICO monitor (Respironics, Inc.) uses co2 production, estimated from changes in exhaled CO2 during a brief period of rebreathing, to determine cardiac output via the Fick relationship.
