ED Management articles from August 2007

ED Management archives from August 2007

Woman dies in ED waiting room; experts say this happens too often.
August 1, 2007... Woman dies in ED waiting room; experts say this happens too often While intake system is clearly 'broken,' EDs are not without options The tragic May 9 death of Edith Isabel Rodriguez in the ED waiting room at Martin Luther King Jr....

Survey: Boarding deaths not all that uncommon.
August 1, 2007... Survey: Boarding deaths not all that uncommon While the media may be treating the recent death of Elizabeth Rodriguez in an ED waiting room in Los Angeles as an isolated incident, a new survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians...

CMS EMTALA memo says telecommunications OK.
August 1, 2007... CMS EMTALA memo says telecommunications OK Averages for LOS, LWBS patients cut in half In a memo of clarification that should have ED managers breathing a sigh of relief, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed...

Guest Column: Tough new CA legislation targets 'homeless dumping'.(Column)
August 1, 2007... Tough new CA legislation targets 'homeless dumping' [Editor's note: M. Steven Lipton, JD, is an attorney with the San Francisco law firm Davis Wright. This is the second of a two-part series on the growing crisis of dumping homeless...

Change of shift high risk for patients in the ED.
August 1, 2007... Change of shift high risk for patients in the ED Communication lapses can cause adverse outcomes Nurses and physicians are at high risk for communication lapses during change of shift, says Francis L. Counselman, MD, chairman and...

Family's presence in ED may lower liability risk.
August 1, 2007... Family's presence in ED may lower liability risk If anything, patients are less likely to sue, say experts A growing number of EDs are allowing family members to be present during resuscitation, as a result of multiple research articles...

Is family presence a factor in lawsuits?
August 1, 2007... Is family presence a factor in lawsuits? When emotional family members are in the ED, what if they hear or see something that they misinterpret and later tearfully tell a jury that the staff were unprofessional or uncaring? To reduce...

ED heart attack protocols save time and lives.
August 1, 2007... ED heart attack protocols save time and lives Two studies published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine describe new methods of achieving the door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes recommended by the American Heart Association.1,2 ...

ED Accreditation Update: The Joint Commission says the goal for medication reconciliation is unchanged.
August 1, 2007... ED Accreditation Update The Joint Commission says the goal for medication reconciliation is unchanged Keeping up with changes in standards from The Joint Commission and the attendant interpretations can be a challenge for the most...

ED Accreditation Update: Proper forms, follow-up are the keys to success.
August 1, 2007... Proper forms, follow-up are the keys to success What are the critical factors to a successful medication reconciliation process? "For us, the keys have been ease of use of forms, staff education about the forms, and follow-up to make sure...

ED Accreditation Update: ED joins hospitalwide effort on survey findings.
August 1, 2007... ED joins hospitalwide effort on survey findings More often than not, ED managers and their staffs toil in relative anonymity as they go about their daily work. However, once the recent findings of a survey by The Joint Commission at...

CNE/CME objectives/questions.
August 1, 2007... CNE/CME objectives *Apply new information about various approaches to ED management. *Discuss how developments in the regulatory arena apply to the ED setting. *Implement managerial procedures suggested by your peers in the...