ED Management – December 1, 2008
December 1, 2008
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New computer network helps EDs to reduce redundant test orders
A new pilot program that allows EDs and health care systems across Milwaukee to share patient information is expected to save thousands of dollars by eliminating redundant testing, while improving patient care. -
Exchange leader says collaboration a must
The establishment of a communitywide patient information sharing system by the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE) was a collaborative effort from the start, says Kim Pemble, WHIE's executive director. -
Dayton health network learning from mistakes
The Greater Dayton (OH) Area Health Information Network (GDAHIN) was established in 1998, but local EDs have not been benefitting from the network for the entire 10 years; in fact, it was turned off in 2003. -
CMS memo OKs use of standing orders
ED managers, hospital leaders, emergency medicine, and hospital organizations breathed a sigh of relief on Oct. 24, 2008, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum that clarified the use of standing orders in hospitals. -
2009 OPPS rule is good news for EDs
Every year at about this time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes its final Out-patient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payment rule for the following calendar year, and every year emergency medicine experts express their dissatisfaction with one aspect or another of what CMS has wrought. This year, however, might prove to be an exception. -
Composite APCs set for imaging
As part of its Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payment rule for 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a multiple imaging composite methodology, which means it will provide a single composite ambulatory payment classification (APC) payment each time a hospital bills more than one procedure from an imaging "family" on a single date of service. The families are: -
EDs are using 'GEMs' to improve elder care
Several EDs in the Canadian Province of Ontario have significantly improved their care for elderly patients with the introduction of a new position called the geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurse. -
Criteria used when assessing elderly patients
Geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurses at Toronto's Humber River Regional Hospital (HRHH) use a strict set of criteria when assessing elderly patients in the ED and determining if they are "high-risk" patients. -
Government program funds ED 'GEMs'
Eight EDs in the Canadian Province of Ontario have benefitted from government funding in the hiring of geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurses. -
'Hybrid' obs unit offsets 60% volume growth
If someone told you that an ED had experienced a 60% increase in volume between 2000 and 2008, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that the average length of stay (LOS) for their patients also had increased dramatically. -
ED manager: 'Hybrid' obs beats alternatives
ED managers have tried several options to offset growing volume, but Bret Nicks, MD, assistant medical director at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, says the hybrid observation unit he oversees beats other alternatives. -
Multifaceted approach keeps patients flowing
The ED at Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in Murfreesboro certainly qualifies as busy: it sees nearly 63,000 patients a year and averages more than 170 patients a day. -
Point-of-care testing makes big difference
Ongoing initiatives in the ED at Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in Murfreesboro have led to improved patient flow. -
Working with other departments speeds flow
Monty Gooch, RN, BSN, director of emergency services at Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in Murfreesboro, says that one of the keys to his department's smooth patient flow door-to-doc time of 35-40 minutes despite steadily growing volume is the way it works closely with other departments. -
NQF endorses voluntary standards for EDs
The National Quality Forum (NQF), expressing its desired to reduce overcrowding and improve quality of care, has endorsed 10 national voluntary consensus standards for hospital-based ED care. The standards are: