ED Management articles from March 2004

ED Management archives from March 2004

Drug-seeker lists are dangerous at best, require tight administrative controls: attorney says avoid them altogether: others urge limited use.
March 1, 2004... After you have security escort patient Joe Jones out of the ED for causing such a ruckus when he couldn't get any Vicodin, you're thinking you'd like to avoid this obvious drug seeker in the future. So maybe you should add his name to the list...

Get tough with drug seekers, know methods: ex-cop advises EDs to be aware.
March 1, 2004... Whether you use a list or not, the best way to deal with drug seekers in your ED is to get tough with them, says John Burke, commander of the Warren County (OH) Drug Task Force in Cincinnati, and a former police officer. Burke is an expert...

Head injury, stroke require speed to avoid malpractice.
March 1, 2004... Head injury is one of the most time-sensitive of all conditions treated in the ED, making staff and physician response pivotal in avoiding malpractice claims, says Diane M. Sixsmith, MD, MPH, FACEP, chairman of emergency medicine at New York...

Satisfaction climbs with smiles, other soft skills.
March 1, 2004... Patient satisfaction improves dramatically if your staff pay more attention to the soft skills of ED care, such as the way you talk to people, while simultaneously improving the physical surroundings. That was the experience of managers at...

Fish tanks and fresh paint help improve mood in ED.
March 1, 2004... Another strategy for improving patient satisfaction in the ED at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock is the "calming effect," which aims to create an environment that is less stressful for the patient. The...

'Gridlock page' helps clear crowded ED.
March 1, 2004... Sometimes, you have to look beyond the walls of your ED for solutions to your overcrowding problems, says Sandy Vecellio, RN, BSN, clinical manager of the ED at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, GA. And when things really get rough, she...

EMTALA Q & A.
March 1, 2004... Question: We're debating two questions in our hospital regarding when EMTALA applies. First, does the law apply to patients who only are "holding" in the ED because there are no beds available in the hospital? And does it apply when an air...

Emergency physicians join call for liability reform; high premiums may reduce access to EDs.
March 1, 2004... The liability crisis in many states is "an overwhelming threat to our nation's emergency care system;' says Angela Gardner, MD, an emergency physician and board member of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in Irving, TX. ...

CE/CME questions.
March 1, 2004... This concludes ED Management's CE/CME semester. (For instructions, see box, at left. For answers, see box, p. 36.) 31. According to Grena Porto, RN, ARM, DFASHRM, a health care risk manager and principal with QRS Healthcare Consulting, when...