ED Management articles from December 2004

ED Management archives from December 2004

Flu vaccine shortage places premium on infection control and surge capacity: ACEP recommends ban on boarding, calls it a 'highly dangerous' practice.
December 1, 2004... Executive Summary There are several steps you can take today to lessen the impact of flu season on your ED. * Combine public education, inoculation, and good hygiene to optimize infection control. * Improve surge capacity through...

Prepare your hospital for a very unusual flu season: vaccine shortages may wreak havoc with hospital EDs, absenteeism.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... With the unprecedented shortage of influenza vaccine this flu season, hospitals are scrambling to prepare for what may be a record number of flu patients presenting to their already overcrowded EDs and for staff shortages due to record...

Preventive health for staff critical to patient safety: ED managers should stress staff vaccinations.
December 1, 2004... Executive Summary Learn about and use the medical and educational options available to safeguard the health of your ED staff. * Make your goal 100% vaccination of all ED staff and others who have direct patient contact. * Use...

New approaches to pain ease discomfort, distress: broader definition are keys to better treatment.
December 1, 2004... Executive Summary Teaching your staff to look at pain in a new light will benefit your patients and your ED's performance. * It is important to consider the emotional aspects of pain, as well as the physical aspects. * Don't be...

Bar-coded patient IDs cut LOS nearly one hour: identification of patients precedes registration.
December 1, 2004... Executive Summary You can integrate different electronic interfaces with your hospital system to streamline the patient sign-in process. * Immediately placing ID number on wristband speeds triage and bed assignment. * If...

Study finds 83% of ED patients have insurance: EDs unfairly penalized by upper management.
December 1, 2004... Executive Summary Research shows your ED is not necessarily a burden to your hospital's bottom line; take advantage of the data. * Use statistics to demonstrate your department should get its fair share of funding. * Since ED...

CMS eases diagnostic testing rules for Eds: payment simplified, documentation lessened.
December 1, 2004... The final rule on hospital outpatient payment services for 2005 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has some good news for ED managers: Requirements for reporting diagnostics tests have become less burdensome. "The...

Schull MJ, Vermeulen M, Slaughter G, et al. Emergency department crowding and thrombolysis delays in acute myocardial infarction.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Schull MJ, Vermeulen M, Slaughter G, et al. Emergency department crowding and thrombolysis delays in acute myocardial infarction. Ann Emerg Med; in press. Heart attack patients treated in EDs experiencing a great deal of crowding were 40%...

Hospitals won't have to ask about immigration status.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has told the American Hospital Association that hospitals will not be required to report a patient's immigration status to receive funding for uncompensated emergency care provided to...

CE/CME questions.
December 1, 2004... 13. Which of the following is not part of the infection control strategy being implemented by Darlene Bradley, RN, PhDC, MSN, MAON, director of emergency and trauma services at University of California, Irvine Medical Center, to minimize the...