Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The objectives were to determine if an emergency department (ED) could improve the adherence to a door-to-electrocardiogram (ECG) time goal of 10 minutes or less for patients who presented to an ED with chest pain and the effect of this adherence on door-to-balloon (DTB) time for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cardiac catheterization (cath) alert patients. ⋯ The overall percentage of patients with a door-to-ECG time within 10 minutes improved without increasing staffing. An ECG was performed within 10 minutes of arrival for all patients who were STEMI cath alerted, but DTB time under 90 minutes was achieved only when the cath team was on site.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program and the 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on the future of emergency care highlight the need for coordinated emergency care research (ECR) to improve the outcomes of acutely ill or injured patients. In response, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) sponsored the Emergency Care Research Network (ECRN) Conference in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2008. ⋯ ECR may extend beyond individual patients and have as the focus of investigation the actual system of emergency care delivery itself and its effects on the community with respect to access to care, use of resources, and cost. Infrastructure determinants of research network success identified by conference participants included multidisciplinary collaboration, accurate long-term outcome determination, novel information technology, intellectual infrastructure, and wider network relationships that extend beyond the ED.
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The objective was to estimate the emergency medicine (EM) board-certified emergency physician (EP) workforce supply and demand by U.S. state. ⋯ The supply and demand of EM board-certified EPs varies by state. Only one state had an adequate supply of EM board-certified EPs to fully staff its EDs.
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The 2008 election brought sweeping political change to Washington, DC. For a variety of reasons, there is also substantial political momentum for reform of our health care system. At the 2008 Association of American Medical Colleges meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, meeting in conjunction with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, chose to examine the topic of "advocacy and political influence." This article summarizes comments made at the meeting and develops the argument that expertise in health policy and political advocacy are valuable skills that should be considered legitimate components of scholarly activity in academic emergency medicine. Strategies for effective advocacy of issues relevant to emergency medicine and emergency patient care are also discussed.