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A study published in the November 2009 issue of the Archives of Surgery1 has caused a stir in ED circles by asserting that uninsured trauma patients are more likely to die than those patients who have insurance.
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When it first became clear that a hospital in Dallas, TX, had initially missed the diagnosis of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in a patient from West Africa, criticism was swift, not only of the hospital, but also of public health authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA.
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Trauma patients have a wide variety of presentations and acuity, and range from healthy patients with minor injuries to patients with extensive medical histories and major trauma.
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Emergency departments pour a lot of resources into compliance with the Joint Commission's standards, including the National Patient Safety Goals. But is there any evidence that compliance with The Joint Commission standards decreases liability risks for an emergency department?
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This story concludes a two-part series on liability risks of boarding admitted patients in the ED. This month, we report on the problem of EDs providing an unequal level of care compared to what patients would have gotten on inpatient units.
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In a series of questionable decisions, a California federal court allowed a plaintiff to bring a "failure-to-screen" claim under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) against a hospital for what was really an ordinary state malpractice claim for "failure to diagnose," and then held that California's $250,000 damages cap wouldn't apply because the EMTALA claim was not a "professional negligence" claim as contemplated by the state's tort reform law - the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
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The dangers of sleep deprivation and fatigue can no longer be ignored.
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You are working one evening, and the EMS dispatch center calls. The ambulance is bringing in a 35-year-old male motor vehicle collision victim who is unresponsive and has a BP of 80 palpable. So, what happens next in your emergency department? Who do you assemble? What equipment do you gather? Do you call the blood bank and the operating room?
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When critical illness occurs, the primary goal is to assist patients to survive the acute threat to their lives. This goal is commonly achieved with 75%-90% of patients who are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) surviving to discharge.