Annals of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Variability in Emergency Department Procedure Rates and Distributions in a Regional Health System: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.
Procedural competency is essential to the practice of emergency medicine. However, there are limited data quantifying emergency department procedural volumes to inform the work of educators and credentialing bodies. In this study, we characterize procedural scope and volume in a regional health care system and compare rates between practice settings and over time. ⋯ All procedures were performed in all settings and rates of several emergent procedures were similar in both settings, underscoring the importance of broad procedural competence for all emergency physicians. Educators and credentialing organizations can use these data to inform decisions regarding curriculum design and certification requirements.
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Emergency departments (EDs) are common access points for patients who are at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Low-barrier access to effective contraception represents a crucial and low-cost intervention to address this public health need. ⋯ With this novel approach, we found that emergency clinicians voluntarily participated in trainings on contraception, including low-threshold long-acting reversible contraception initiation; and, after completing these trainings, clinicians integrated these skills into their workflow in the ED. We report our results after screening 38 patients during our current Pilot Phase of implementing this program.