Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2016
Communication and Influencing for ED Professionals: A training programme developed in the emergency department for the emergency department.
The objective of the present study is to develop and pilot a communication and influencing skills training programme that meets ED health professionals' needs at an urban district hospital. ⋯ Communication and Influencing for ED Professionals™ (Babel Fish Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) addresses a gap for communication programmes developed in the ED for the ED. Future research will evaluate the programme's impact in this ED.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2016
Observational StudyTime to analgesia in an emergency department in Eastern Nepal.
Nepal is a least developed country, with limited healthcare resources. An 18 month Fellowship in Emergency Medicine has contributed some improvements to care. This study assessed time to first analgesia in higher and lower acuity patients. ⋯ Time to analgesia for triage score 2 is lower compared to higher triage score. However, a large proportion of patients still do not receive analgesia. This is likely addressed by using a combination of strategies.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2016
Effect of a pager notification system on Australasian Triage Scale category 2 patients in a paediatric emergency department.
Australasian EDs have introduced innovative processes to ensure safe and timely management of patients. Our ED introduced a dedicated pager system to provide rapid assessment of Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) category 2 patients in an attempt to expedite ED care. The present paper aims to evaluate the impact of this initiative on time to clinician, ED length of stay (LOS) and clinical outcomes in a tertiary paediatric ED. ⋯ The rapid assessment pager system proved beneficial in reducing triage to clinician times for ATS category 2 patients but showed no improvement in overall ED LOS or disease-specific clinical quality indicators. Further research is needed to determine the influence of other components of ED functioning on clinical outcomes, as well as the overall clinical impact a pager system has on other measures of quality such as patient satisfaction and other subgroups of patients.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2016
The inverted U curve and emergency medicine: Overdiagnosis and the law of unintended consequences.
We all think and assume that more is better, but unintended consequences can arise in a complex system. However, in our complex world, everything of consequence follows an inverted U curve. The inverted U curve helps us challenge our natural assumption that more is better. ⋯ What patients actually value is thinking doctors who talk to them. Promoting clinical judgement reinforces the mantra that less is more, resulting in positively intended consequences. This essay aims to be a thought-provoking commentary of our practice.
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A physician assistant (PA) is a university qualified health professional who's primary role is to provide medical care under the direction and supervision of medical staff. This is a new profession in Australasia. The PA is well suited to working in both rural, regional and urban settings that deliver emergency medical care. A perspective is presented on their role and scope of practice within the Australasian emergency care system supported by some early findings from their use in a tertiary ED.