Emergency
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EDs Face Legal Trouble if Patient’s Advance Directive Not Followed
Emergency physicians worry about litigation because they did not save a patient’s life. However, few realize there are considerable legal risks if aggressive end-of-life care is provided against the patient’s wishes. Several recent million-dollar settlements have involved ED patients who were resuscitated or intubated against the documented wishes in their advance directives.
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Many Patients Worry About Hospital Bill During ED Visit
To prevent EMTALA problems, train staff well, giving them carefully drafted scripts to use for patients who insist on discussing insurance coverage before a medical screening exam.
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Huddles Vital to Effectively Conveying Important Safety, Risk Information
Frontline providers fully understand the importance of safety and risk information. However, considering the ease with which managers and colleagues can communicate such information, some of the most important messages can be lost or overlooked in the barrage of emails, texts, pages, alarms, and other alerts clinicians receive every day.
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Developers Unveil Universal Screening Tool for Suicide Risk
Suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among adolescents, but many at risk remain unidentified. One solution is universal screening in the ED, a place nearly 20% of all U.S. adolescents visit annually. Investigators developed the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth tool, which enables teens to undergo the screening on a tablet computer, with results immediately available.
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Multilayered Approach to 911 Calls Targets Social Needs, Cuts ED Visits
Many EDs fill up with patients without serious medical concerns, but social or mental health problems clinicians may not be well-equipped to address. Putting social workers and other resources on scene to address these needs can expedite an appropriate response. Another potential solution is to meet these patients where they are, eliminating the need for an ED visit altogether.
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Start Small, Employ Relevant Personnel to Manage Complex Social Problems
Every hospital relies on a problem-solving method for performance improvement. The key is putting the right people on an intervention.
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Address Social Determinants of Health with Multidisciplinary Team, Community Partnerships
An ED Social Medicine team tackles social issues that often sabotage positive health outcomes and prompt repeat ED visits. The team includes clinicians, social workers, mental healthcare providers, patient navigators, a pharmacist, and transitional care personnel.
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Epistaxis: Evaluation and Management in Patients Taking Antiplatelet Drugs
Although the complaint of epistaxis may be perceived as less severe when compared to other emergency department complaints, it still poses a challenge requiring expertise in its acute management.
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The Growing List of Long-Haul COVID-19 Symptoms
Swedish researchers observe rapid heart rate, dizziness in patients months after viral infection.
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Measles Outbreak Cost Public Millions of Dollars
The 2019 re-emergence of this vaccine-preventable disease cost a single U.S. county more than $3 million.