A dramatic dip in emergency department volume has been a concern for hospital providers across the country. People experiencing stroke, heart attack, and other serious symptoms have been avoiding hospitals, fearing coronavirus, according to reports. How can a nurse case manager calm fears in new patients? In Nashville, one nurse practitioner has been on the front lines with this situation.
In October 2019, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, NJ, began using telemedicine to check in with patients who are discharged from the emergency department and ensure appropriate follow-up appointments are in place. As it turns out, the timing of its implementation was fortuitous, because the hospital has been able to quickly expand its telehealth platform to help with patients who might have contracted COVID-19.
Opioid therapy can be an effective form of pain management in the ED for acute painful conditions. The risk of addiction and abuse should be considered in every case. Alternatives to opioid therapy include systemic agents, such as acetaminophen, NSAIDs, lidocaine, alpha agonists, anticonvulsants, ketamine, corticosteroids, and local and regional anesthesia.
After seeing what seemed like a disproportionate number of radiology malpractice claims from the ED, researchers set out to learn if this anecdotal impression was supported by hard data.
More than 100 U.S. EDs that have achieved some level of credit through the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program. These EDs have taken specific steps to better meet the needs of older patients who present to the ED according to Geriatric Emergency Department Guidelines, established in 2013. However, recognizing that smaller, rural hospitals often do not have the training or resources to meet GEDA standards, researchers are determining if telemedicine technology can be leveraged to make this accreditation available to these facilities.
Multiple professional organizations have released a policy statement that heralds the initial step in an ambitious effort aimed at promoting pediatric readiness in the prehospital environment. The move follows in the footsteps of the successful National Pediatric Readiness Project, which continues to push for improvements in the preparedness level of EDs across the country to care for children.
Falls in patients older than 65 years of age are an increasingly common presentation in U.S. emergency departments, and intricate knowledge and confidence in the evaluation and management of these patients is vital.
