ED Management – May 1, 2007
May 1, 2007
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Patient comes back to ED in scrubs and works an entire shift as a temp
At 9 p.m. on March 5, a woman who had been a patient in the ED at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, FL, returned there in scrubs and claimed to be a temporary worker. Although she had no ID badge, staff accepted her story that she had lost it. She was allowed to enter the ED and worked for 10 hours as a patient care technician. -
EDs can play major role in rapid response teams
When you learn that a hospital has a rapid response team (RRT), your initial assumption might be that it is being staffed and managed by the ICU, and in many cases you'd be right. But in a growing number of facilities, particularly smaller community hospitals, that role is being filled by the ED. -
Incremental approach is best with a new EDIS
An Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) often is referred to as a "suite" because it is an integrated software system, with multiple applications designed to work in concert with each other. Given that design, an ED manager might well be inclined to purchase and implement such a suite in one fell swoop. -
Cooperation, expansion keep diversion rate low
"Overcrowding? What overcrowding?" That could well be the slogan of EDs in Fort Wayne, IN, where diversion rates in its five hospitals are consistently below national averages. -
Critical lab value reporting more challenging in ED
Failing to document that a critical lab value was read back, if your ED's policy requires this. Failing to realize that there are long delays in reporting urgent test results to ED physicians. -
Joint Commission to address diversity issues
A new report from The Joint Commission recommends targeted strategies to address language and cultural issues that increasingly pose challenges to hospitals seeking to deliver safe, effective care to an increasingly diverse American population. -
Database of malpractice records now available to all
HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company in Golden, CO, has compiled the first national database of physician malpractice records available to the public. -
Pandemic warnings could trigger closings
Even a mild pandemic could result in school closings, cancellation of public gatherings, voluntary quarantines, and absenteeism of employees who must leave work to care for children or elderly relatives, according to interim guidance on community mitigation released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -
U.S. House passes Trauma Care Act of 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Trauma Care Systems Planning and Development Act (H.R. 727), which, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), will increase the availability of trauma care across the United States and thus improve the survival rate for patients suffering from traumatic injuries. -
You can expect delays in flu vaccine delivery
If you were frustrated by the slow delivery of influenza vaccine last fall, public health officials have a message for you: Get used to it. -
Guidance to address liability in emergencies
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in Washington, DC, is accepting comments through May 31 on draft guidance clarifying the scope of medical liability coverage provided under the Federal Torts Claims Act (FTCA) to federally supported health centers and their employees during emergencies. -
A FREE white paper for our readers
AHC Media appreciates the faith you have placed in us to provide you with practical, authoritative information. As a token of our gratitude for your support, we would like to provide you with the free white paper, The Joint Commission: What Hospitals Can Expect in 2007. -
ED Accreditation Update: Proposed leadership standard revisions emphasize resolution of conflicts among leaders
The Joint Commission has proposed revisions to its leadership standard that reinforce its emphasis on effective communication and conflict resolution between and among what it calls the "key leadership components" of a hospital: The ED manager and other department managers, ED physicians, and other organized medical staff, and the governing body. -
ED Accreditation Update: White paper underscores patient health literacy
" . . . Your left toe, looks like you're going to lose a little bit of the distal part," the trauma surgeon told the wounded patient. Then he paused, and rephrased: "The end of it, right at the toenails there; just a tip off the big toe and maybe the second toe in, just the tip." -
ED Accreditation Update: ED overcrowding survey process may be revamped
The Joint Commission is keenly aware that much still needs to be done to address ED overcrowding; in fact, the agency is considering a redesign of its survey process to more accurately measure ED performance in terms of overcrowding, according to a leading Joint Commission official.