ED Management articles from August 2008

ED Management archives from August 2008

Medicare's shifting of call panels could be good news for ED managers.
August 1, 2008... Medicare's shifting of call panels could be good news for ED managers Proposed change would allow community call arrangements In a move that emergency medicine experts hope will provide at least partial relief to the call coverage...

Proposed 2009 OPPS: Quality push continues.
August 1, 2008... Proposed 2009 OPPS: Quality push continues ED managers have the opportunity to increase reimbursements under the proposed 2009 rule for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), but they also will come under greater scrutiny by the...

CMS proposal could have unintended consequences.
August 1, 2008... CMS proposal could have unintended consequences Final passage for new regs is likely The recent proposal by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to allow hospitals to establish community call arrangements to satisfy their...

ED fares well on APC increases.
August 1, 2008... ED fares well on APC increases ED managers should be pleased with the proposed increases in ambulatory payment classifications (APCs) for fiscal year 2009, says Dennis Beck, MD, FACEP, CEO of Beacon Medical Services in Denver and chair of...

ED swings into action following helicopter crash.
August 1, 2008... ED swings into action following helicopter crash Cooperation with fire department was essential When an Aero Med helicopter crashed and burst into flames on the roof of an 11-story tower at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in...

Mobile units let ED reopen after flood.
August 1, 2008... Mobile units let ED reopen after flood Vendor staff train providers on use of new equipment When a flash flood hit Columbus, IN, in June, Columbus Regional Hospital had to be evacuated. But just two weeks later, the ED was able to...

ED staff trained on new equipment.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... ED staff trained on new equipment In the wake of a flash flood in June that forced the closing of Columbus (IN) Regional Hospital, the ED reopened about two weeks later in a mobile unit called the Carolinas Mobile Emergency Department-1...

Mobile unit can be available quickly.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Mobile unit can be available quickly When an ED is forced to close due to a disaster and requests delivery of a mobile unit called the Carolinas Mobile Emergency Department-1 (MED-1), "we like to think we can be mobile in 72 hours," says...

Is 'the ED was just too crowded' ever a defense?
August 1, 2008... Is 'the ED was just too crowded' ever a defense? Strategy is likely to backfire Crowding is increasingly becoming a factor in litigation involving ED care and is putting nurses and physicians at increased risk for being named in a...

Consider these arguments to defend docs, department.
August 1, 2008... Consider these arguments to defend docs, department When you are faced with more patients than resources, and a lawsuit results, one possible defense argument that would encompass the hospital and the emergency physician is that everyone...

ED boarding adds to risk.
August 1, 2008... ED boarding adds to risk When intensive care unit (ICU) patients are held in ED hallways, this situation poses a serious liability risk. The ED physician has some liability to care for these tremendously ill patients, "and you are...

Could electronic records get your ED sued?
August 1, 2008... Could electronic records get your ED sued? Risk of tools may not yet be known Increasing numbers of EDs are implementing electronic medical records (EMRs), including computerized physician order entry (CPOE), with the goal of improving...

Emergency management given separate chapter.
August 1, 2008... Emergency management given separate chapter In The Joint Commission's revised standards, rationales and elements of performance for 2009, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2009, the emergency management standards have, for the first time,...

ED Accreditation Update: Hospital-acquired infections are a major focus of National Patient Safety Goals for 2009.
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Hospital-acquired infections are a major focus of National Patient Safety Goals for 2009 When The Joint Commission announced its National Patient Safety Goals for 2009, it became clear that the recent interest...

ED Accreditation Update: Hand washing is key to stop infection spread.
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Hand washing is key to stop infection spread With The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals focusing on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), ED managers say the key to compliance remains one of...

ED Accreditation Update: Patient involvement, education can help.
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Patient involvement, education can help Involving the patient in their own care, an important component of the National Patient Safety Goals for several years, including 2009, also can be a big help for EDs...

ED Accreditation Update: Meds reconciliation: Breathe a sigh of relief.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Meds reconciliation: Breathe a sigh of relief After years of lobbying by emergency medicine groups and a summit last fall to take a closer look at the issue, a significant change has been made in the National...

ED Accreditation Update: Preparation can lead to good survey results.(emergency department)(Survey)
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Preparation can lead to good survey results Just because surveys by The Joint Commission are no longer announced, it doesn't mean you can't prepare for them, say ED experts. "It is optimal to integrate...

ED Accreditation Update: Preparation pays off for emergency department.
August 1, 2008... ED Accreditation Update Preparation pays off for emergency department In anticipation of unannounced survey visits by The Joint Commission, the ED at St. Jude's Medical Center in Fullerton, CA, created a "Code JUDE," or Joint...

CNE/CME objectives/questions.
August 1, 2008... 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...