-
As a small (10,000 visits a year) department, the ED at Boone (IA) County Hospital is fortunate it doesn't have to deal with the long waiting times that face many other EDs. But that fact alone does not necessarily guarantee high patient satisfaction levels.
-
Below are suggested actions to help prevent patient harm related to the implementation and use of health information technology (IT) and converging technologies.
-
A patient is mistakenly given tenectaplase, an investigational drug, due to it being a "look-alike," with proper protocols not followed.
-
If a patient comes to your ED with a fractured wrist, you'd probably triage them as low acuity based solely on their chief complaint.
-
Children under 2 years old with asthma are more likely than other children to return to the ED within seven days, according to a recent analysis of 4,228 visits.1
-
Point-of-care tests done by ED nurses at triage or the patient's bedside are increasing "both in terms of use and diversity," according to Darlene Matsuoka, RN, MN, CEN, CCRN, ED clinical nurse educator at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
-
[Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on medical screening examinations (MSEs) performed by emergency nurses. This month, we report on two EDs that have implemented this practice. Next month, we'll cover the potential liability risks of nurse-performed MSEs and how to them.]
-
To obtain an accurate history from a child, you need to gain their trust, just as you do with adult patients that are in crisis, says Freda Lyon, RN, BSN, MHA, service line administrator at Bixler Emergency Center in Tallahassee, FL.
-
Emergency physicians perform many lifesaving procedures every day; however, none is more important than effective airway management.
-
Historically, all febrile infants younger than 90 days of age were aggressively evaluated and treated with empiric antibiotics until culture results were available. Although this approach ensured the highest level of sensitivity in the detection of serious bacterial infection (SBI), such evaluations were time- and labor-intensive, and created a risk for unnecessary adverse reactions to medications.
