Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Bedside urine testing for fentanyl in self-reported heroin users in a tertiary Brisbane emergency department.
To determine if patients presenting to our toxicology unit following self-reported heroin use had positive urine immunoassay testing for fentanyl or its analogues. ⋯ In patients presenting to our toxicology unit in Brisbane, we did not find any cases where the urine of patients self-reporting heroin exposure tested positive for fentanyl or its analogues.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
ReviewReview article: Telehealth in Emergency Medicine in Australasia: Advantages and barriers.
The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted Telehealth to the forefront of Emergency Medicine (EM) as an alternative way of assessing and managing patients. This challenged the traditional idea that EM can only be practised within brick-and-mortar EDs. Many Emergency Physicians may find the idea of practising Telehealth in Emergency Medicine (TEM) confronting, particularly in the absence of training and clear practice guidelines. The purpose of the present paper is to describe the current use of TEM in Australasia, and outline the advantages and barriers in adopting this practice domain.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Supporting equitable care of patients transferred from police watch-houses to the emergency department: A qualitative study of the perspectives of emergency doctors.
People detained in short-term police custody often have complex health conditions that may necessitate emergency care, yet little is known about their management in EDs. The present study aimed to understand ED doctors' experiences and perceptions regarding the appropriateness and management of detainee transfers from police watch-houses to the EDs. ⋯ Providing equitable healthcare to patients transported from watch-houses to the EDs is challenging but essential. Numerous opportunities exist to enhance the delivery of optimal care for this underserved population.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Reducing medication errors on emergency department discharge: Evaluation of a collaborative pharmacist-medical officer discharge prescription planning model in a tertiary hospital emergency short stay unit.
To implement and evaluate the impact of a collaborative pharmacist-medical officer model of planning discharge prescriptions, Partnered Pharmacist Discharge Prescription Planning (PPDPP) on the safe use of medicines on discharge in an ED short stay unit (SSU). ⋯ The PPDPP model improved medications safety on discharge from the ED SSU. The PPDPP did not impact patient flow parameters as measured in this study.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
ReviewReview article: Abdominal pain and diabetes mellitus in the emergency department.
This manuscript seeks to describe diagnostic considerations in individuals with diabetes mellitus presenting to the ED with abdominal pain. It highlights the importance of early investigation with computerised tomography to differentiate aetiologies that compel early surgical intervention from those which may be treated conservatively.