CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Most patients with chest pain in the emergency department are assigned to cardiac monitoring for several hours, blocking access for patients in greater need. We sought to validate a previously derived decision rule for safe removal of patients from cardiac monitoring after initial evaluation in the emergency department. ⋯ We successfully validated the decision rule for safe removal of a large subset of patients with chest pain from cardiac monitoring after initial evaluation in the emergency department. Implementation of this simple yet highly sensitive rule will allow for improved use of health care resources.
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Uptake of influenza vaccination in Canada remains suboptimal despite widespread public funding. To increase access, several provinces have implemented policies permitting pharmacists to administer influenza vaccines in community pharmacies. We examined the impact of such policies on the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination in Canada. ⋯ Uptake of influenza immunization was modestly increased in Canadian jurisdictions that allowed pharmacists to administer influenza vaccines.