Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2025
Effects of a Virtual Trauma Clinic on admissions and length of stay for minor to moderate trauma.
To investigate the feasibility of a Virtual Trauma Clinic (VTC) for patients with minor to moderate trauma, and evaluate patient satisfaction and outcomes. ⋯ Patients with minor to moderate trauma have ongoing care needs with high rates of pain, psychological distress and disability remaining prevalent long after discharge. VTC provided an innovative strategy for hospital avoidance with high levels of patient satisfaction and no adverse effects on safety. The overall quality of care for these patients was enhanced through the provision of standardised, patient-centred and multidisciplinary follow-up.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2025
Self-reported knowledge and attitudes surrounding care of LGBTQIA+ patients in the emergency department.
The ED is a common pathway for receiving care for all consumers. Little is known about staff perspectives about care of consumers who identify as LGBTQIA+ in an Australian setting. We sort to explore staff knowledge, attitude and behaviours around care of LGBTQIA+ consumers to identify potential barriers to care. ⋯ This study found that despite little or no formal training in provision of care for LGBTQIA+ consumers, respondents saw LGBTQIA+ consumers as a relatively small group within the wider ED consumer population and did not see the treatment of LGBTQIA+ consumers as more challenging with respect to interaction, assessment and provision of care.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2025
Criteria for early discharge of drowning patients from the emergency department.
Clinical factors previously shown to independently predict safe discharge were applied at ED presentation to determine whether we could identify a group of drowning patients who do not require treatment and are thus safe for rapid discharge. ⋯ Drowning patients who meet rapid discharge criteria at ED presentation will not require treatment for their drowning and may be considered for discharge from the ED without further investigation or mandatory period of observation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2025
De-implementing low-value care in emergency medicine: A framework for sustainable improvement.
The continued use of low-value care interventions is a persisting challenge across the healthcare system despite targeted international efforts to reduce their use. These practices result in considerable economic and carbon costs. ⋯ We outline the interventions and the proportions by which they were reduced. We provide a step-by-step framework that provides a model for other hospital departments or primary care centres to initiate their own de-implementation process for low-value care practices within their setting.