Articles: emergency-medicine.
-
The increasing emphasis on the emergency physician's role in the community led us to investigate the role of residency training programs in providing more than clinical competence to their graduates. Using guidelines provided by the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and program alumni, we set about to determine methods of enhancing the EMS and administrative aspects of the residency program at Charity Hospital. We describe the curriculum that was developed.
-
High-cost laboratory tests, roentgenograms, medications, and supplies were the focus of a voluntary cost-containment effort initiated in a community hospital emergency department. The department microcomputer determined that 100 of 1,560 possible chargeable items were responsible for 90.9% of the total cost to patients. Emphasis on cost containment in general and specific emphasis on the 100 high-cost items resulted in a 10.2% reduction in laboratory and radiology charges and a 3.3% total savings to patients.