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Trepidation about litigation among emergency practitioners is a significant concern. Every patient encounter presents the chance for an adverse outcome. The standard of care is defined by experts as a well-established, set path with only one logical approach and outcome; in reality, the standard of care may be a tortuous path with many choices that may lead to dissimilar conclusions. This issue of ED Legal Letter outlines the problems with determining the standard of care and how courts will interpret the standard of care.
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Stroke centers with specialized stroke teams have the potential to improve outcomes and decrease lengths of stay (LOS) for facilities that previously have relied solely on pre-hospital and emergency department (ED) infrastructure.
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Researchers are set to release new data confirming the benefits of a case management strategy heralded three years ago as a way to decrease the cost of treating repeat patients in the emergency department (ED).
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Before Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center started an initiative to improve the transition of patients to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), about 12% of the Lebanon, NH, facilitys patient days were patients waiting for SNF placement.
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When Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, undertook an initiative to improve the efficiency of nursing homes admissions, the task force looked at ways to improve communication and collaboration with local skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).
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Since Hurley Medical Center in Flint, MI, began a comprehensive program to improve documentation, reimbursement has improved and the hospitals severity of illness and risk of mortality data have come in line with benchmark data.
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A case management program for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at MeritCare Health System in Fargo, ND, helps women smoothly navigate through the health care maze as they make treatment decisions.
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Health care providers have access to plenty of flowcharts and algorithms designed to guide the treatment of patients with particular diagnoses, but many of them arent designed for use in the emergency department (ED).
