Articles: emergency-services.
-
Comparative Study
An analysis of emergency department use by patients with minor illness.
To describe the motivation for emergency department use by patients with minor illnesses and compare the demographics and social class characteristics of these patients with those of the general ED population. ⋯ There are no major differences in ED use for minor illness patients from different racial, educational, and economic backgrounds. These patients tend to have a low frequency of chronic illness and often have no established health care provider. They choose the ED for its ease of access and the wide scope of care that can be delivered.
-
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among emergency health care use, 911 call volume, and jail admissions with the timing of the distribution of General Assistance, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and Minnesota Supplemental Aid welfare checks. ⋯ The findings suggest that scheduling and staffing practices of various emergency service areas in Hennepin County reflect patient load variation associated with time of welfare check distribution. Systematic variation of time or amount of welfare could lead to improved distribution and reduction of emergency services demand.
-
Discharge planning update · Jul 1991
The ER social worker: cost-effective, crisis-oriented discharge planning--and more.
The emergency room social worker exemplifies, in a crisis-oriented context, the ability of social workers to make a difference, in real terms, in situations of patient and family need--physical, environmental, and emotional. Our hospital has come to see the opportunity for community care and support, coupled nicely with the ability to decrease burdensome and costly social admissions and lessen time patients spend waiting in the ER. Patients and their families are well served in our ER. ⋯ ER social workers have also served as clinical supervisors for graduate social work students in field placements. The ER social worker serves as a valued extension in our discharge planning. We recommend this role for your consideration.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Jun 1991
Toxic exposures and ingestions in Honolulu: I. A prospective pediatric ED cohort; II. A prospective poison center cohort.
Poisonings and toxic exposures are a frequent cause of preventable morbidity in children requiring emergency care. Ingestions and toxic substance exposures were studied in two prospective cohorts in Hawaii to examine the epidemiology of these events in this community in order to assess the effectiveness of current poison prevention practices and to identify additional measures to further prevent and reduce morbidity and mortality. During a 12-month period ending on 11/30/88, data were collected on 286 pediatric patients visiting a pediatric ED with an ingestion or a toxic substance exposure. ⋯ Although ipecac is widely recommended as a pre-hospital intervention, it use is limited owing to unavailability in the home and the short period of time during which it must be given. Since the dispensing of pharmaceuticals in limited quantities and in childproof containers began, it appears that other measures to further reduce morbidity and mortality owing to poisonings have had less additional effect. It appears that serious morbidity and mortality from poisonings in this cohort were uncommon.
-
To describe the clinical and ECG features of cocaine abusers evaluated in the emergency department and admitted to the medical coronary care unit with chest pain consistent with myocardial ischemia. ⋯ Our findings confirm a small but significant incidence of myocardial infarction in cocaine abusers presenting to the ED with chest pain. The chronicity of cocaine abuse, the persistence of ECG abnormalities, and the variable temporal relationship of chest pain to cocaine abuse suggest possible chronic myocardial changes as etiologies of ischemia.