Search Tag: emergency department

IMAGING Management

Imaging for Chest Pain - New Recommendations

2016 25 Jan

The American College of Cardiology and American College of Radiology have released new recommendations for diagnosing chest pain in the emergency department. The document outlines appropriate use of diagnostic imaging in 20 fundamental clinical scenarios for emergency imaging for chest pain. The clinical scenarios are broken down into leading critical... Read more

ICU Management

Intraosseous Access Training with Tea and Cake

2015 22 Dec

A hospital in the UK has adopted a novel technique for technical skill training — used initially for difficult airway training — to train anaesthetic and intensive care unit (ICU) staff for intraosseous (IO) access, according to an article published in the journal Resuscitation . The authors say the training approach can be applied to many resuscitation... Read more

ICU Management

Having Med Students in the ER Does Not Slow Care

2015 21 Dec

As part of their training, medical students have become involved in bedside care and this has raised concerns over the possible effect on quality of care. Now, new research from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows that the presence of trainees does not slow care in the emergency department (ED). The results indicate a balance between... Read more

Executive Health Management

Pod-and-huddle ED Model Speeds Processes

2015 23 Nov

Emergency departments (ED) are usually designed in a linear flow, attaching nurses or physicians to particular patients and specific tasks. However, this type of system is vulnerable to uneven staff low, high patient levels, and a backflow of ED discharge.  If an ED was designed to be more versatile and facilitate more effective teamwork, it would... Read more

ICU Management

Doctor-Patient Relationship is Key to Reducing CT Scan Overuse in ED

2015 23 Nov

In emergency department settings, overuse of computed tomography (CT) for minor head injury continues despite rigorously validated clinical decision rules like the Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR). Medical experts say one in every three CT scans performed on patients with minor head injury is unnecessary. New research from Yale University has found that,... Read more

ICU Management

Study: ED-ICU Collaboration Reduced Sepsis Mortality, Costs

2015 23 Oct

Close collaboration between the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) and standardised ICU admission criteria for patients with sepsis can significantly reduce mortality rate and care costs, according to new research published in CHEST Journal. "Although ICU level of care is costly, earlier inclusion of borderline patients may improve... Read more

IMAGING Management

Study: CT Can Change ER Physicians' Diagnoses

2015 14 Oct

In emergency department settings, CT scan results can substantially change physicians' diagnoses, diagnostic confidence, and admission decisions, according to a new study from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute for Technology Assessment. The finding, reported in the journal Radiology , adds important information to health policy debates... Read more

Executive Health Management

'Collaboration' Biggest Challenge for Healthcare Lean Management

2015 28 Sep

Use of Lean management methodology to improve care efficiencies is new for healthcare. A new report in The Journal of Nursing Administration describes how a Lean-based in the emergency department of a large hospital significantly reduced patients’ wait times and length of stay, while improving patient throughput and satisfaction level. The approach... Read more

ICU Management

Arabs and Jews Get Equal Pain Treatment in the ER

2015 10 Sep

Results of an Israeli study indicate that ethnic differences, including during periods of armed conflicts, have no effect on pain treatment in children who visit the emergency departments with broken bones or joint dislocations. These paediatric patients with fracture or dislocation received equal pain treatment in the ED regardless of their ethnicity... Read more

Executive Health Management

Pilots Reduce Readmissions and Overcrowding

2015 05 Sep

The UCLA Center for Prehospital Care and collaborators from the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency and the Glendale and Santa Monica fire departments have launched two pilot programmes that are designed to reduce hospital readmissions and address overcrowding in emergency rooms.  The Community Paramedic Pilot Programs will expand... Read more