Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2004
Comparative StudyMultidisciplinary assessment at triage: a new way forward.
To evaluate a dual doctor and nurse triage system at a tertiary referral hospital. ⋯ We feel that multidisciplinary triage performs a useful function in our department enabling us to reduce waiting times. The process is widely accepted amongst the staff and it ensures a senior doctor assesses most patients. It reduces the number of patients leaving prior to being seen by a doctor and it provides one way of getting around access block and a physically small department.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2004
Compliance with advice and appropriateness of emergency presentation following contact with the HealthDirect telephone triage service.
Evaluation of compliance with advice and appropriateness of emergency presentation following contact with a telephone triage service (HealthDirect). ⋯ HealthDirect contacts were of similar appropriateness to non-HealthDirect presenters and appear to attend the ED independent of HealthDirect advice. HealthDirect has a limited capacity to influence ED utilization or workload.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2004
Does the presence of an emergency physician improve access based quality indicators in a rural emergency department?
To assess the effect that the presence of an emergency physician in the ED has on the access indicators of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. ⋯ There is some evidence that the presence of an emergency physician improves performance within this group of access based indicators within a rural ED, however, the effect seen here is small. More studies are needed on this topic and also on the development of quality indicators for rural ED.