Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Studies in emergency department data collection: shared versus split responsibility for patient enrollment.
To compare patient enrollment in six clinical studies using shared coverage (24 emergency department [ED] rooms-two students share enrollment responsibility) with enrollment using split coverage (12 rooms each per student). The academic associate (AA) program uses undergraduate students to collect data for clinical studies in the ED by providing double coverage 16 hours/day, seven days/week. Prior studies have shown that this system captures >85% of eligible patients. Methods to obtain closer to 100% enrollment are desired. ⋯ Study subject enrollment was not affected by the use of either the shared or split responsibility strategy for recruitment. Students generally preferred the split strategy because it was more helpful and easier to monitor. Therefore, this may be the best option for similar student-oriented data collection programs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Efficacy of an educational Web site for educating physicians about bioterrorism.
To determine whether a Web-based educational intervention improves emergency physicians' knowledge about bioterrorism and to survey physicians' knowledge and sources of information on bioterrorism. ⋯ Providing physicians information on bioterrorism through simulated cases and continuous access to an educational Web site does not increase knowledge of bioterrorism. Physicians are more likely to use media reports for their primary source of information.
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Comparative Study
Emergency department patient satisfaction: examining the role of acuity.
To explore the relationships between patient acuity, perceived and actual throughput times, and emergency department (ED) patient satisfaction. The authors hypothesized that high-acuity patients would be the most satisfied with their throughput times, as well as the overall ED visit. The authors also expected overall ED satisfaction to be more strongly associated with perceived throughput times compared with actual throughput times, regardless of acuity. ⋯ "Emergent" patients are more satisfied than "urgent" and "routine" patients with their ED visits. "Emergent" patients perceived their throughput times more favorably than other patients, especially their wait for physician evaluation. Changing perceptions of throughput times may yield larger improvements in satisfaction than decreasing actual throughput times, regardless of patient acuity.