Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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COVID-19 has massively changed the health landscape around the world. Wide-ranging changes to healthcare delivery have occurred, especially in hospitals and EDs. ⋯ In Australia, civil liability Acts provide protection for professionals when the criterion of having undertaken 'competent' practice that would be 'widely accepted' 'in the circumstances' is met. There is doubt how courts, and the medical experts who advise them, will evaluate clinical care provided during the pandemic when health services have developed local care pathways and there is no nationally accepted standard.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Delphi assessment of audit and research priorities in an emergency department.
Audit and research projects in the ED are important to improve patient care but can be time and resource consuming. We identified and prioritised audit and research topics among multidisciplinary ED staff to fill perceived knowledge gaps, encourage engagement, reduce duplication and facilitate translation of evidence into clinical practice. ⋯ This Delphi study has provided departmental audit and research priorities that are perceived to be of importance across the multidisciplinary ED team. This methodology allows strategic allocation of limited resources and may increase staff engagement.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialPropofol for migraine in the emergency department: A pilot randomised controlled trial.
To test the administration of intravenous (i.v.) propofol at a procedural sedation dose compared to standard therapy for initial management of migraine in the ED. ⋯ Initial management of migraine with i.v. propofol at procedural sedation doses significantly reduced TTD compared to standard therapy. We did not detect any significant safety concerns although the study was not adequately powered to detect safety of the intervention and requires validation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Directors of emergency medicine's beliefs about, barriers to, and enablers of solutions to emergency department crowding and access block.
To identify opportunities for directors of emergency medicine (DEMs) to lead change efforts to address ED crowding and access block. ⋯ Addressing the political and cultural forces that sustain ED crowding and access block are key adaptive challenges requiring DEM leadership.