Internal and emergency medicine
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"Triage" is a useful tool used in emergency departments (EDs) to prioritize the care of patients. Through a methodical process of different sequential steps, the triage nurse assigns a color code which goes from red-critical patient with immediate access to medical examination-to a white code that represents no urgency. Clinical studies have shown that patients can be victims of errors during the process of care, especially in complex systems such as EDs. ⋯ We used a "root cause analysis" to explain an episode of missed recognition of red code at triage. A nurse without specific training in triage and inexperienced in critical care was identified as the "root cause" of the sentinel event. To make improvements we planned a triage training course (for newly employed nurses and a refresher course for existing staff) and created a team of dedicated triage nurses.
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Comparative Study
Emergency department crowding and risk of preventable medical errors.
The objective of the study is to determine the association between emergency department (ED) crowding and preventable medical errors (PME). This was a retrospective cohort study of 533 ED patients enrolled in the National ED Safety Study (NEDSS) in four Massachusetts EDs. Individual patients' average exposure to ED crowding during their ED visit was compared with the occurrence of a PME (yes/no) for the three diagnostic categories in NEDSS: acute myocardial infarction, asthma exacerbation, and dislocation requiring procedural sedation. ⋯ We identified a direct association between high levels of ED crowding and risk of preventable medical errors. Further study is needed to determine the generalizability of these results. Should such research confirm our findings, we would suggest that mitigating ED crowding may reduce the occurrence of preventable medical errors.