Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2008
Multicenter StudyInterrater reliability of the Australasian Triage Scale for mental health patients.
To evaluate interrater reliability of the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) for mental health patients in ED. ⋯ There is a need to develop and implement a validated, standardized national triage tool for mental health patients. The ATS per se is insufficient to ensure acceptable interrater reliability, particularly during busy periods in the ED, and between states. Given the influence the ATS has on key outcomes, it is imperative for this tool to be robust.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2007
Multicenter StudyHandover in the emergency department: deficiencies and adverse effects.
To determine problems resulting from ED handover, deficiencies in current procedures and whether patient care or ED processes are adversely affected. ⋯ Deficiencies in handover processes exist, especially in communication and disposition information. These affect doctors, the ED and patients adversely. Recommendations for improvement include guideline development to standardize handover processes, the greater use of information technology facilities, ongoing feedback to staff, and quality assurance and education activities.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2007
Multicenter StudyWhy patients attend emergency departments for conditions potentially appropriate for primary care: reasons given by patients and clinicians differ.
To compare reasons identified by clinical staff for potential primary care attendances to the ED with those previously identified by patients. ⋯ These data confirm that clinician perspectives on reasons for potential primary care patients' use of ED differ quite markedly from the perspectives of patients themselves. Those differences do not necessarily represent a punitive or blaming philosophy but will stem from the very different paradigms from which the two protagonists approach the interactions, reflecting the standard tension in a provider - consumer relationship. If policy is to be developed to improve system use and access, it must take both perspectives into account with respect to redesign, expectations and education.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2007
Multicenter StudyPractice makes perfect? Evaluation of cricoid pressure task training for use within the algorithm for rapid sequence induction in critical care.
To assess task training in cricoid pressure application suitable for incorporation into the algorithm for rapid sequence induction in acute care. ⋯ The application of cricoid force by critical care staff can be significantly improved by up to 3 min of practice on a simple task trainer.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2007
Multicenter StudyImproving asthma discharge management in relation to emergency departments: The ADMIRE project.
The present paper describes the process, outcomes and lessons learned from a federally funded, multicentre action research project aimed at improving discharge practices for asthma patients who attend ED and are discharged home. Thirty-two ED participated and worked locally to improve discharge practices using previously published best-practice guidelines. Although they achieved some improvements, major barriers to best-practice discharge outside ED control were identified, including access to GP, hospital policies regarding supply of medications and access to appropriate asthma education. The ED developed some useful tools to assist with improving asthma management that have been compiled as a toolkit and are available online.