Articles Tagged With:
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Considerable Legal Risks for EDs if Discharged Patients ‘Bounce Back’
Patients with a history of substance abuse or chronic pain were most likely to “bounce back” to the ED, according to the authors of a study.
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Discrepancies in Overread of Radiology Studies Pose Legal Risks for EDs
Some argue the costs outweigh the benefits of in-house, overnight attending radiologists. A recent paper provides new evidence of benefit to providing this service.
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Shortness of Breath in Older Adults Is Challenging Diagnosis in ED
Older adults might present with atypical symptoms, such as “just not feeling right.” Some experience a decreased sensation of dyspnea itself, so they do not even report feeling short of breath. Older patients also may present with various comorbid conditions that are causing shortness of breath, such as congestive heart failure or COPD. This can lead to misdiagnosis.
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Few Hospitals Violating ‘Good Faith’ EMTALA Requirements for Admitted Patients
An ED patient is admitted, but then is transferred almost immediately. This kind of situation can call into question whether the admission was “good faith” or if the hospital was just trying to work around federal EMTALA requirements.
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Legal Implications for ED, Hospital if Triage Nurse Orders Testing
The authors of a recent analysis examined 13 studies about nurse-ordered testing at triage. Ten studies were about length of stay or time to diagnosis. The authors of the other three compared tests ordered at triage with tests ordered by emergency physicians. There were some surprising findings.
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Caring for Young Febrile Infants
Every clinician has struggled with managing a febrile infant. We know the majority will have a benign viral illness, but we fear the serious bacterial infection that may have devastating consequences in this vulnerable population. This evidence-based article reviews the current literature and approach to infants less than 60 days of age.
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Does Prescription of Contraception During the Postpartum Hospitalization Affect Postpartum Visit Adherence?
In this retrospective cohort study of 1,015 women at one institution, there was no association between type of contraceptive prescribed immediately postpartum and attendance at the postpartum visit.
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Is it Safe to Discharge Patients Without an Opioid Prescription After Gynecologic Surgery?
In this quality improvement initiative study, patients undergoing scheduled gynecologic abdominal surgery via both minimally invasive and open routes were able to be discharged safely without a prescription of opioids without significant increases in postoperative calls about pain or the need for filling opioid prescriptions after discharge.
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Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure of the Cervix: Which Is the Best Method of Anesthesia?
In this randomized controlled trial comparing local anesthesia and general anesthesia for loop electrosurgical excision procedure of the cervix, there was no difference in patient satisfaction. However, women in the local anesthesia group had significantly smaller cone volumes and less blood loss than those in the general anesthesia group.
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Hospital at Home Model Benefits from Traditional QI Approach
The Hospital at Home care model is gaining favor with hospitals and health systems as a way to provide hospital-level care in a patient’s home while lowering costs by almost one-third and reducing complications. The approach is receiving more attention now as a way to avoid asking patients to come to the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.