ED Management – August 1, 2005
August 1, 2005
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Unannounced survey takes its toll on ED — Will you be ready when it’s your turn?
In March 2005, seven representatives from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) made a surprise visit to Methodist Hospital in Gary, IN. During the unannounced visit, surveyors reported an overcrowded ED with patients whose needs should have been tended to more quickly. -
Tracers: They’re not just for accreditation surveys
Since the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) began using tracer methodology as part of its survey process, ED managers have felt the necessity to perform their own tracers in preparation for these periodic visits. In so doing, however, they have learned that tracers can become, in and of themselves, valuable tools for improving processes in the ED. -
Do your staff know how to handle organ donations?
Organ and tissue donations present an important part of the ED managers responsibilities, both in terms of patient/family communication and legal/risk management considerations, say emergency medicine experts. -
New tracking systems improve patient flow
The ED at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston has reduced its average length of stay from 6.5 hours to six hours for all patients, and from 4.5 to four hours for nonadmitted patients, since the installation of a wireless tracking system for patients, staff, and equipment. -
A ‘NOD’ to patient needs boosts satisfaction rates
New York City may have a reputation as a fast-paced metropolis where most people are too busy to give you the time of day, but the ED at Jack D. Weiler Hospital, one of three EDs in Bronxs Montefiore Medical Center, has won over patients with an approach focused on friendliness and TLC. -
Staff, patients prefer ED-based interpreters
Childrens National Medical Center in Washington, DC, has had interpretation services available for patients both telephonic and live interpreters for several years. -
ED Accreditation Update: Hospitals’ preparation for surge of patients helps with new Joint Commission standards
With new surge capacity standards from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, EDs are finding that their preparation for any type of patient surge translates into preparation for the infectious patients specifically targeted in the new standard (IC.6.10), which says, As part of emergency management activities, the organization prepares to respond to an influx, or the risk of an influx, of infectious patients. -
ED Accreditation Update: JCAHO preparation in a fast-paced ED
Probably one of the most difficult tasks facing an ED manager is preparing a fast-moving staff for a review by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Most ED staffs thrive in an ever-changing environment and focus attention on what matters most in the next 30 minutes, certainly not the next 30, 60, or 90 days. So whats a manager to do?