Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
To use a geographic information system (GIS) and spatial statistics to describe the geographic variation of burn injuries in children 0-14 years of age in a major metropolitan area. ⋯ This study shows the utility of geographic mapping in providing information about injury patterns within a defined area. The combination of mapping injury rates and spatial statistical analysis provides a detailed level of injury surveillance, allowing for identification of small geographic areas with elevated rates of specific injuries.
-
Comparative Study
The effect of a new emergency medicine residency program on patient length of stay in a community hospital emergency department.
It is not clear how emergency medicine residents affect emergency department (ED) efficiency. The objective of this study was to determine whether a new emergency medicine residency program affected the length of stay (LOS) of patients in a community hospital ED. ⋯ In this ED, there was a weak, positive correlation between ED patient length of stay and the presence of PGY-3 emergency medicine residents.
-
Comparative Study
Customer satisfaction measurement in emergency medical services.
The annual patient volume in emergency medical services (EMS) systems is high worldwide. However, there are no comprehensive studies on customer satisfaction for EMS. The authors report how a customer satisfaction survey on EMS patients was conducted, the results, and the possible causes for dissatisfaction. ⋯ This study shows that customer satisfaction surveys can be successfully conducted for EMS. EMS systems should consider routinely using customer satisfaction surveys as a tool for quality measurement and improvement.
-
This study evaluated a sample of emergency department (ED) patients for history of violence and substance abuse. ⋯ A large percentage of injured patients in this urban ED experienced violence in the past year. Alcohol and illicit drugs appear to be concomitant with violence.
-
To determine the effect of simultaneous ambulance diversion at multiple emergency departments (EDs) (gridlock) on transport delays for patients with chest pain. ⋯ Ambulance diversion was associated with delays in out-of-hospital ambulance transport for chest pain patients, but only when it resulted in gridlock. The magnitude of the out-of-hospital delay was the same regardless of the patient's severity of illness.