Articles: emergency-department.
-
Patient safety events (PSEs) are unwanted or unexpected events that occur during medical care. High cognitive loads and frequent interruptions make emergency departments (EDs) uniquely error prone environments. Yet, frontline clinicians rarely report PSEs using incident reporting systems. The incidence, severity, and preventability of PSEs thus remain poorly understood, and contributing factors are understudied. We sought to understand ED staff beliefs and perceptions about their PSE reporting system and what features they believe are important in such a system. ⋯ In this study, we have identified ideal features for PSE reporting processes to meet the needs of both frontline staff and departmental leadership based on perceptions of current PSE reporting practices. Improved PSE reporting processes have the potential to increase PSE reporting in the ED overall, increasing the availability of information about PSEs to support quality improvement and improve patient safety.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Interventions to improve consultations in the emergency department: A systematic review.
Emergency department (ED) consultations with specialists are necessary for safe and effective patient care. Delays in the ED consultation process, however, have been shown to increase ED length of stay (LOS) and contribute to ED crowding. This review aims to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve the ED consultation process. ⋯ The various interventions impacting the consultation process were predominately successful in reducing ED LOS, with evidence suggesting that interventions improving consult responsiveness and improving access to consultants in the ED also improve consult response times. Health care providers looking to implement interventions to improve the ED consultation process should identify key areas in their setting that could be targeted.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2022
Parental Childhood Adversity and Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization: A Pilot Study.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; neglect; and/or exposure to household instability have been associated with adult emergency department utilization, but the impact of parental ACEs on pediatric emergency department (PED) utilization has not been studied. The primary aim was to determine if parental ACEs impact resource utilization as measured by (1) frequency of PED utilization, (2) acuity of PED visits, and (3) 72-hour PED return rates. The secondary aim was to determine if resilience interacts with the impact of parental ACEs on PED utilization. ⋯ Parental ACEs appear to be positively associated with frequency of PED utilization and inversely associated with higher-acuity PED visits and parental resiliency.