Emergency
RSSArticles
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Overview and Instructions
Read each of the following sections. CME Questions are presented inline with links to begin the CME Post-Test. -
ED Diagnosis and Management of Influenza in Children
MONOGRAPH: Influenza hospitalizations and deaths occur mainly in high-risk groups such as the elderly, the chronically ill, and the very young.
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Evaluation and Management of Traumatic Wounds
Traumatic wounds are a common cause of ED visits and are often managed exclusively by the emergency medicine provider. Most of these patients are evaluated, appropriately treated, and discharged with satisfactory outcomes. Although outcomes are similar, there are no specific preferred treatments for traumatic wound injuries, and this requires the emergency provider to develop comprehensive efficacy strategies on how to approach these common injuries. Wound closure materials, techniques, and management strategies vary widely, with both the preferences of the physician and the patient influencing the final decisions.
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TJC: New portal offers access to infection prevention resources, health care-associated infections
The Joint Commission has unveiled a new Infection Prevention and Healthcare-associated Infection (HAI) portal that combines what used to be two separate online resources: www.jointcommission.org/hai.aspx.
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To avoid misdiagnoses and unnecessary care, take the time to engage patients, listen to their concerns
Leana Wen, MD, MSc, an emergency medicine physician and the director of Patient-Centered Care Research at George Washington University in Washington, DC, has spent a lot of time talking about how patients can do a better job of advocating for themselves when they interact with the health care system. Her book, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Testing, (St. Martin’s Press) is now out in paperback.
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TJC: New reporting changes give hospitals added flexibility on core measures
Hospitals now have new options to consider in the way they report on the ORYX performance measures, according to the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill-based The Joint Commission (TJC). While hospitals will still need to report on six sets of core measures, the accrediting agency explains that hospitals will no longer be mandated to report on acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care improvement project (SCIP). The only measure set that will be mandatory for 2015 is perinatal care, and that is only for hospitals that have at least 1,100 live births per year. Other than the perinatal care requirement, hospitals will be able to select from the full complement of core measure sets.
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Culture Change in the ED: Still Ample Room for Improvement
After many years of involvement in emergency medicine, the author sees changes in the ED.
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Researchers offer up a mnemonic tool to guide clinicians who must assess decision-making capacity in patients during emergency situations
Clinicians from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a mnemonic-driven tool to help clinicians quickly assess whether patients have decision-making capacity during emergency situations.
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Borrowing yet another technique from manufacturing, investigators find that ‘operational flexibility’ can offer dividends to ED operations
Specifically, the analysis found that the addition of a three-bed flex track produced a mean patient waiting time of 30.9 minutes. The traditional division between fast track and high-acuity beds produced a mean waiting period of 40.6 minutes, and a department where all the beds were totally flexible produced a mean wait time of 35.1 minutes.
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How to Effectively Boost Hand-washing Compliance
Administrators at Henry Ford Hospital regularly use "mystery observers" in the ED to check up on how compliant clinicians and staff are.