Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Predicting the number of emergency department presentations in Western Australia: A population-based time series analysis.
To predict the number of ED presentations in Western Australia (WA) in the next 5 years, stratified by place of treatment, age, triage and disposition. ⋯ ED demand in WA will exceed population growth. The highest growth will be in patients with complex care needs. An integrated system-wide strategy is urgently required to ensure access, quality and sustainability of the health system.
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Understanding the reasons patients decide to attend a particular acute care service, and their expectations of that service, is important in providing optimal patient care. The present study aimed to determine factors influencing patient decisions to attend a private Australian ED, an issue that has not been previously addressed in the literature. ⋯ Patients chose to use the private ED because of prior experience, proximity, and an expectation they would be seen promptly and be provided with competent care.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2015
Can a barcode scanner for blood collection improve patient identification integrity in the emergency department? A prospective before-and-after study.
To describe the effect of interventions designed to improve patient identification (PI) during pathology collection in the ED. ⋯ ED staff had poor behaviours for identifying patients and labelling pathology specimens before intervention. These safety behaviours were considered an assumed skill. Education alone improved critical KBs markedly that was further augmented by the armband scanner. The cost to adopt education alone is relatively low compared to the addition of armband scanner technology.