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Controversy continues to swirl around the appropriateness of emergency physicians writing holding orders (or bridge orders, as they are sometimes called) for admitted patients.
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Crowding is increasingly becoming a factor in litigation involving emergency department care, putting nurses and physicians at increased risk for being named in a lawsuit.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed changes to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) regulations that would allow "community call" programs to be established by groups of hospitals in self-designated referral areas to help address the shortage of ED on-call specialists.
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Increasing numbers of EDs are implementing electronic medical records (EMRs), including computerized physician order entry (CPOE), with the goal of improving patient safety. However, not much is known about the liability risks of these new tools.
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Police say an employee of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta stole jewelry from two patients in cases that garnered substantial media attention in the community.
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Problems related to automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) include both product design flaws and human errors, according to the 2007 ADC Survey from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Horsham, PA. There has been some improvement since the first ADC survey in 1999, but not enough.
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Automation and high-tech systems often are touted as the solution for medication errors, but the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Horsham, PA, is warning that you could be substituting one type of medication error for another when you use automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs).
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Reducing falls is a constant worry for risk managers, and sometimes it seems there are no new ideas. But many health care providers are finding the most success with an approach that includes a wide range of efforts, everything from special equipment and monitoring systems to making sure every employee is empowered to prevent falls.