ED management : the monthly update on emergency department management
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ED managers, responding to a study that showed more than 75% of patients do not understand their discharge instructions, list several options for improving communications. They include: Have several providers discuss with the patient their condition, treatment, and follow-up instructions. Make sure discharge instructions are written at a fourth-grade reading level or lower. Initiate a project in your department to shorten your discharge instruction forms.
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Patients presenting to your ED with complaints that should be seen by a primary care physician can exacerbate overcrowding and tie up staff unnecessarily. The ED at Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland has addressed this problem with a two-pronged approach: Nonemergent patients who are uninsured but wish to be treated in the ED must pay $75 before treatment can begin. Patients also are offered the option of being referred to one of the system's neighborhood clinics. Referred patients are guaranteed they will be seen within 72 hours.