Articles Tagged With: discharge
-
Is Diagnosis Uncertain in the ED? Clear Communication Is Needed
Patients likely expect to leave the emergency department with a definite understanding of what is wrong. Yet many patients are discharged or admitted with an uncertain diagnosis.
-
Pandemic-Era Care Transitions Led to ED Overcrowding
Researchers found that adult patients who visited EDs in a North Carolina health system between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2022, faced significantly longer stays if they were transitioned from the ED directly to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) instead of transitioning to a hospital bed and then to a SNF.
-
Older ICU Survivors Often Receive New and Persistent Prescriptions for Sedatives After Discharge
In this population-based cohort study of older intensive care unit survivors, one in 15 of them received a new prescription for a sedative within a week of discharge, and more than half had recurrent prescriptions.
-
Data Indicate Hospital Stays Are Longer, Causing Discharge Delays
As patients wait longer to take the next step along their journey through the healthcare continuum, costs mount for providers.
-
Obstacles to ED Admission Cause Legal Problems
When faced with this tricky situation, emergency physicians should carefully document discussions and remember they are responsible for clearly communicating about the patient’s condition, test results, and indication for admission.
-
Improve Handoffs with Patient Care Partners
Quality patient handoffs are crucial to patient safety. They can be improved by expanding the scope of a handoff to include discharge. Hospitals can proactively ensure every patient is discharged with someone who is prepared to help the patient recover at home, or prepared to find others who can and will. -
Patients’ Goals During Long-Term Acute Care Hospital Stays
After a long-term acute care hospital stay, most patients will achieve goals of ventilator liberation, eating, drinking, and speaking, but many will not achieve independence in walking, grooming, toileting, or returning home.
-
Abnormal Vitals Linked to Unanticipated Death After ED Discharge
More than half of 129 patients who died unexpectedly after they were discharged from EDs exhibited abnormal vital signs at the time. Each patient had presented to an urban academic ED between 2014 and 2017, and died within seven days after they went home. -
Abnormal Vitals Linked to Unanticipated Death After ED Discharge
Repeating vital signs before discharge is key to averting disaster.
-
EDs See More High-Risk Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices
To reduce risks for patients with ventricular assist devices, providers should learn how they work, what complications need to be evaluated, and how to do so. Ensure systems are put in place for providers to care for these patients in an expeditious and effective way.