Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2016
Comparative Study Observational StudyMedical scribes in emergency medicine produce financially significant productivity gains for some, but not all emergency physicians.
The present study aims to determine if a scribe in an Australian ED can assist emergency physicians to work with increased productivity and to investigate when and where to allocate a scribe and to whom. ⋯ In the present study, scribe usage was associated with overall improvements in primary consultations per hour of 13% per scribed hour, and this varied depending on the physician. There is an economic argument for allocating scribes to some emergency physicians on days, evenings and weekends, not to trainees.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2016
Perceived incivility during emergency department phone consultations.
Perceived incivility during ED medical phone consultations is poorly researched. We aimed to determine frequency and factors influencing perceived incivility during ED phone consultations. ⋯ Perceived incivility occurs infrequently during ED phone consultations. ED female medical staff are at an increased risk of perceived incivility during phone consultations with non-ED medical professionals. Health organisations should actively pursue programmes to investigate the occurrence of incivility during healthcare consultations and implement programmes to mitigate the risk of developing a negative workplace culture.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2016
Observational StudyHuman factors in the emergency department: Is physician perception of time to intubation and desaturation rate accurate?
The main objective of the present study was to examine the perceived versus actual time to intubation (TTI) as an indication to help determine the situational awareness of Emergency Physicians during rapid sequence intubation and, additionally, to determine the physician's perception of desaturation events. ⋯ Our findings have shown that provider's perception of TTI occurs sooner than actually observed. Also, the providers were less aware of desaturation during the procedure.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2016
Emergency department 'undercrowding' is associated with decreased waiting times.
To evaluate the effect of a sudden and sustained decrease in patient presentations on waiting times and other measures of workload and flow following the opening of a large, greenfields ED adjacent to our own. ⋯ Patient presentation numbers are strongly associated with and likely impact on median waiting time. Understanding that controlling demand can lead to significant benefits in patient processing, flow and overall patient perceived level of care and satisfaction is relevant to any discussion on ED overcrowding and the deleterious effects of access block.
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The present study aimed to describe paramedic assessment and management of pain in children in a large state-wide ambulance service. ⋯ Disparities in analgesic administration based on age and the low rate of pain scores documented in very young children identified in the present study should inform strategies that aim to improve the assessment and management of pain in children.