Articles: hospital-emergency-service.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Simplification of emergency department discharge instructions improves patient comprehension.
Emergency department patients have been shown to have difficulty understanding written discharge instructions. We attempted to determine whether improvements in comprehension can be achieved by simplification of available materials. ⋯ Simplified written materials may help patients who do not understand current standard materials. Health care providers should simplify written materials to make them understandable to the greatest number of patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Primary care in the accident and emergency department: II. Comparison of general practitioners and hospital doctors.
To compare the process and outcome of "primary care" consultations undertaken by senior house officers, registrars, and general practitioners in an accident and emergency department. ⋯ Employing general practitioners in accident and emergency departments to manage patients with primary care needs seems to result in reduced rates of investigations, prescriptions, and referrals. This suggests important benefits in terms of resource utilisation, but the impact on patient outcome and satisfaction needs to be considered further.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Primary care in the accident and emergency department: I. Prospective identification of patients.
To compare patient characteristics and consultation activities for attenders at accident and emergency departments assessed by nurse triage as presenting with "primary care" or "accident and emergency" type problems. ⋯ Accident and emergency triage can be developed to identify patients with problems that are more likely to be of a primary care type, and these patients are less likely to receive an investigation, minor surgical procedure, or referral. Many patients in this category, however, receive interventions likely to support their decision to attend accident and emergency rather than general practice. This may reflect limitations in the sensitivity of triage practice or a clinical approach of junior medical staff that includes a propensity to intervene.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Cost analysis of stapling versus suturing for skin closure.
A randomized, prospective study was performed to test the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the cost of stapling and suturing for skin closure of selected linear lacerations. Appropriate wounds were randomly assigned to be closed by staples or sutures. ⋯ The average total cost per case was $17.69 (with suture kit) and $7.84 (without suture kit) for the staple Group compared with $21.58 for the suture Group (P = .0001 for each). It is concluded that stapling is less costly than suturing and that the advantage appears to increase as laceration length increases.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Reducing hospital costs for the geriatric patient admitted from the emergency department: a randomized trial.
To test the impact of a geriatric evaluation and management model on the costs of acute hospital management of emergently admitted older adults. ⋯ When controlled for important predictors of expected resource use, care provided by a geriatric management team resulted in a significant reduction in the cost of hospitalization. A reduction in the cost of laboratory, cardiographic, and pharmacy services is consistent with the team's philosophy of defining the services needed based on goals related to functional outcomes.