ED management : the monthly update on emergency department management
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You can't always make your ED bigger, but you can reduce patient logjams with creative strategies. *Encourage the public to see their primary care providers for nonurgent medical treatment before going to the ED. * Remote monitoring systems enable you to house patients in locations separate from your ED. * Look for underutilized space in your hospital that can be converted to an additional unit.
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Learn about and use the medical and educational options available to safeguard the health of your ED staff. Make your goal 100% vaccination of all ED staff and others who have direct patient contact. Use guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for respiratory etiquette and policies governing sick staff members. Subpar staff health not only can spread illness but lead to longer ED wait times.
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You can use rapid-cycle testing to try out new approaches to overcrowding much more frequently than with more traditional process improvement strategies. Improving bed turnaround notification can yield dramatic improvements. Telling staff they have to try a new process only for three days makes it easier to gain buy-in. Look for old policies that are no longer needed, yet continue to keep your staff bogged down.
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Under a new accreditation standard, EDs and all departments must be prepared to handle an influx, or the risk of an influx, of infectious patients. Collaborate with your infection control committee, disaster management committee, local board of health, and other providers to develop protocols and policies. Hold disaster drills in which you must handle infectious patients. ED staff, particularly the triage nurses, need training in early recognition of presenting symptoms of infectious diseases.