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With deaths from opioid medication-related overdoses reaching epidemic proportions, researchers at two academic medical centers in Boston have identified key characteristics or red-flags that patients may be exhibiting drug-seeking behavior.
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To gather insight on an array strategies used to curb ED utilization, investigators conducted a systematic review of five types of interventions.
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Traumatic injury remains one of the most important and persistent causes for morbidity and mortality in the United States. The establishment of a trauma team that is available to evaluate and manage trauma quickly and efficiently during the very critical first minutes after the injured patient arrives at the hospital has significantly improved survival and dramatically reduced sequelae from these injuries. An important component of this expedited evaluation has been the recognition of the utility of ultrasound to augment the imaging and triage of the injured patient. In this well-researched monograph, the authors describe this rapidly growing modality and its many applications. All members of the trauma team should be familiar with the indications and limitations of this important trauma tool.
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As the country moves toward full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, one issue that many safety-net hospitals are grappling with for the first time is market competition. While it is still not clear how many states are going to go along with the reform laws expansion of Medicaid, the thinking is that in areas where newly insured patients have options for where to receive care, safety-net facilities are going to have to compete with other facilities to be the hospitals of choice.
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It is entirely understandable for emergency providers to question any new task or responsibility handed down by regulators or administrators. Busy providers are already stressed with burgeoning patient volumes and all the pressures associated with handling acute care crises.
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The face of health care compliance is rapidly changing. Having spent the past week attending the largest health care compliance gathering in the country, I am convinced that no one is immune to payer audits.
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Sometimes just making people aware of their performance is all that is necessary to significantly improve care. Investigators at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) found this to be precisely the case when they attempted to use this approach to improve door-to-needle times for stroke patients who presented to the ED for care at UCSF Medical Center.
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With the proliferation of medical devices in recent years, hospital providers are now bombarded with a cacophony of sounds, signals, and other information emanating from these ubiquitous machines.
