Emergency Medicine Topics
RSSArticles
-
Sophisticated Technology Gives Clinicians Head Start on Diagnosing, Treating Sepsis
At Tampa General Hospital, staff have shortened the average length of stay for patients with sepsis and lowered mortality rates. When early recognition and treatment is the goal, the ED plays a critical role in ensuring patients with sepsis are set up for success.
-
New Diagnostic Tools Expected to Revamp Sepsis Care
An expert panel agreed a test is needed to indicate the severity of dysregulated host immune response. Although there was some uncertainty over which patients would benefit most from such a test, the panel agreed the sepsis test should be conducted at triage and produce results in less than 30 minutes.
-
Fewer Delays in Sepsis Treatment via Provider in Triage Model
However, more research is needed to identify which key elements of this process can be reliably replicated using cost-effective resources to balance liabilities and risks.
-
Legal Considerations if ED Embraces Provider in Triage Approach
Implementing standing orders at triage and taking a team approach to care, with triage nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and emergency physicians all working together, are better approaches to improve the triage process.
-
EDs Face OSHA Citations for Failing to Prevent Violence
OSHA cited a Texas hospital for failing to adequately protect employees from violence, after a patient assaulted a security officer who lost consciousness and was subsequently hospitalized. The agency noted the hospital had not created policies and procedures to protect employees from assault by patients who had exhibited violent behavior.
-
How Emergency Medicine Leaders Can Implement an Intervention to Assess Suicide Risk
EDs will need to build a multidisciplinary implementation team to review their current care delivery, build improved protocols, deploy those protocols, adjust them iteratively over time to work out the kinks, and install methods for sustaining the effort long-term.
-
Patients with Limited English Proficiency Pose Risks
It is critical for administrators to provide professional interpreter services for all languages commonly spoken among patient populations that present to emergency departments most often.
-
Acute Shoulder Injuries in the Emergency Department
Shoulder injuries account for a significant portion of musculoskeletal injuries evaluated in the emergency department.The incidence is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade because of changing population characteristics. Emergency medicine clinicians must be prepared to care for shoulder injuries from direct trauma and overuse from sporting activities or occupational injuries.
-
Early Missed Sepsis Diagnosis Leads to $2 Million Award for Patient
This case highlights the importance of screening patients properly and the compounding risks for nurses, physicians, and hospitals that can result when staff miss a screening.
-
ACEP, ENA Push Congress to Act on Workplace Violence, Expand Mental Health Resources
The threat of violence against healthcare workers compromises the ability of emergency clinicians to deliver the highest-quality care. Meanwhile, there is a lack of resources to provide patients struggling with mental health concerns with the proper treatment or to place them in a setting where the right care can be provided.