Articles: emergency-department.
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See editorial, p 274. Variations in the way that data are entered in emergency department record systems impede the use of ED records for direct patient care and deter their reuse for many other legitimate purposes. To foster more uniform ED data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is coordinating a public-private partnership that has developed recommended specifications for many observations, actions, instructions, conclusions, and identifiers that are entered in ED records. ⋯ If the recommended specifications are widely adopted, then problems-such as data incompatibility and high costs of collecting, linking, and using data-can be substantially reduced. The collaborative effort that led to DEEDS, Release 1.0 sets a precedent for future review and revision of the initial recommendations. [DEEDS Writing Committee: Data Elements for Emergency Department Systems, Release 1.0 (DEEDS): A summary report. Ann Emerg Med February 1998;31:264-273.].
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Because overall EMS system response depends on ambulance availability, we conducted a prospective study of the EMS turnaround interval. This interval represents the time elapsed from ambulance arrival at the hospital until the ambulance reports back in service. ⋯ In this system, ambulance call report documentation required the greatest subinterval of turnaround interval. The turnaround interval and its subintervals varied widely, and radio contact times correlated poorly with observed times at the ED. Attempts at improvement of overall system response through active management of the turnaround interval may be frustrated by reliance on radio-reported availability. [Cone DC, Davidson SJ, Nguyen Q: A time-motion study of the emergency medical services turnaround interval. Ann Emerg Med February 1998;31:241-246.].
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The emergency department of the future will require the effective integration of information technologies into clinical care. This article proposes strategies for improving information management in emergency medicine to facilitate patient care, public health surveillance, clinical research, medical education, and health care management. [Cordell WH, Overhage JM, Waeckerle JF, for the Information Management Work Group: Strategies for improving information management in emergency medicine to meet clinical, research, and administrative needs. Ann Emerg Med February 1998;31:172-178.].
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[Committee on Pediatric Equipment and Supplies for Emergency Departments, National Emergency Medical Services for Children Resource Alliance: Guidelines for pediatric equipment and supplies for emergency departments. Ann Emerg Med January 1998;31: 54-57.].