ED Management articles from February 2006

ED Management archives from February 2006

Emergency care in some states 'in critical condition,' warns ACEP's report.
February 1, 2006... Publication identifies barriers to improvement in key areas The national emergency health care system is in serious condition, with many states in a critical condition. This warning jumps off the page from the first-ever "National...

Pick a CPOE that's right for your ED and hospital.
February 1, 2006... Run detailed case studies (Editors' note: This is the second in a two-part series on computerized physician order entry [CPOE]. In this month's article, we tell you how to compare different systems, and we cover other key steps in the...

Guideline compliance improves pneumonia care.
February 1, 2006... Safely send patients home A study conducted by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs Healthcare System showed that more intense implementation strategies for care of...

'Psych ED' helps speed throughput time by 9%.(separate area for emergency psych patients at Forsyth Medical Center in Greensboro, NC)
February 1, 2006... Improvement seen despite increase in patient volume A new, separate area for psych patients within the ED has helped Forsyth Medical Center in Greensboro, NC, cut its average throughput time by 9% -- from 201 minutes to 189 minutes for all...

Quality, equipment hold keys to infection control.
February 1, 2006... Watch staff members wash their hands While developing and maintaining effective infection control procedures involves a large range of issues in the ED, many of them fall within two major areas: quality control and equipment/facilities. And...

Implants will aid care of unconscious patients.
February 1, 2006... Chips provide history plus meds The next generation in patient identification and electronic medical information is now unfolding in a growing group of EDs across the country. The ED managers who are using it are convinced it will prove...

FY '06 budget may have bad news for EDs.
February 1, 2006... If the current federal budget package is approved by the House of Representatives without significant changes, it could lead to decreased revenue for EDs, says Molly Collins Offner, MHSA, senior associate director of public policy in the...

Prepare for emergency management committee meeting as part of Joint Commission survey.
February 1, 2006... Using a disaster tracer, surveyors will ask staff about their roles Beginning this year, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization has added an emergency management committee meeting and a disaster tracer. The tracer...

Form reconciles meds, but doctor buy-in difficult.
February 1, 2006... To meet the National Patient Safety Goal to reconcile medications across the continuum of care, one ED is finding success with a medication reconciliation form that it developed. The National Patient Safety Goal requires hospitals to...

Resources address unannounced surveys.
February 1, 2006... To prepare for the new unannounced survey process, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is offering several new resources on its web site. Those resources include a computerized graphic presentation, questions and...

CE/CME questions.
February 1, 2006... 25. According to Roneet Lev, MD, FACEP, ED managers can use the results from the new national report card to: *explain some of the difficulties their department may be experiencing. *identify key issues that should be brought to the...