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The final version of the recently proposed changes to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) takes effect on Nov. 10. To provide you with critical information on the updated regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Thomson American Health Consultants offers "New EMTALA Regulations: Are They Too Good to be True?" an audio conference on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., EST.
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In practice, the ability of medical staff to detect delirium may not always be straightforward. In a typical busy emergency department, constraints on time can impair the collection of salient historical points and observation of the more subtle clinical signs. Therefore, delirium often is missed, overlooked as senescence, or incorrectly diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder or dementia.
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Although spinal injuries occur infrequently, a delay in the detection of thoracolumbar trauma may have devastating consequences for a child. It is critical that the emergency physican be familiar with injury patterns that may result in this type of injury.
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The recognition of non-accidental injury is critical for a pediatric
trauma patient. In the year 2000, almost 3 million reports of child
abuse were made to social service agencies. Forty-four percent of the
fatalities were children younger than 1 year of age. Not only are these
statistics alarming, but they point out the need for emergency
department and trauma physicians and nurses to recognize non-accidental
injury and aggressively protect the children who seek our medical
expertise and protection.
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The skyrocketing cost of medical malpractice insurance has affected physicians throughout the nation. Many emergency physicians (EPs) have seen the costs of insurance nearly double in the past three years. Some insurers have deemed EPs with three claims against them in a five-year period as uninsurable. This months ED Legal Letter will provide insight into the malpractice crisis by looking at the cause, effect, and potential solutions to the problem. Furthermore, it will review why past legislative attempts to remedy previous malpractice crises have failed.
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Part I of this two-part series covered gastrointestinal causes of chest pain and aortic dissection. This second and final part of the series will focus on pulmonary, psychiatric, and musculoskeletal causes of chest pain.