Articles: emergency-services.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Nov 1993
Comparative Study[Management of head injury patients seen in Urgent Care].
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Comparative Study
Expediting the early hospital care of the adult patient with nontraumatic chest pain: impact of a modified ED triage protocol.
A prospective study that compared a traditional emergency department (ED) triage protocol with an expedited protocol was conducted to determine if minimizing the subjectivity of nursing triage would result in more efficient management of adult patients presenting with nontraumatic chest pain. The traditional protocol triaged 382 patients into 1 of 5 categories of acuity. The expedited study group (418 patients) were triaged as usual but subsequently were treated as if they were triage category 1 or 2 (medical evaluation within 15 minutes of arrival). ⋯ Study patients with non-AMI cardiac chest pain and AMI cardiac chest pain were evaluated by a physician an average of 12 minutes and 8 minutes after ED arrival, respectively. Delays in interdepartmental processes, such as ECG-technician responsiveness, thrombolysis protocol fulfillment and thrombolytic agent delivery, negated benefits derived from improvements in internal processes. Effective coordination of the numerous processes involved in the initial ED management of adult patients with nontraumatic chest pain is required to make thrombolytic therapy for AMI within 30 minutes of patient arrival a routinely achievable goal.
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Emergency physicians are overwhelmed by the load of medical record documentation in the emergency department. This article reviews the important reasons for better documentation and today's increasing regulatory requirements in medical record documentation.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Nov 1993
ReviewRisk management and high-risk issues in emergency medicine.
Risk management in the emergency department is defined in this article. The health care professional should focus on the health and best interests of the patient.
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To determine the feasibility of immunizing unvaccinated elderly patients with influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in the emergency department. ⋯ The majority of elderly ED patients are not immunized adequately with influenza and pneumococcal vaccines as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most elderly patients will accept immunization with these vaccines as part of their ED care. These vaccines can be delivered effectively to elderly patients in the ED.