Articles: emergency-services.
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To estimate (1) the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in emergency department (ED) patients, (2) the frequency of blood contact (BC) in ED workers (EDWs), (3) the efficacy of gloves in preventing BC, and (4) the risk of HIV infection in EDWs due to BC. ⋯ In both inner-city and suburban EDs, patient HIV seroprevalence varies with patient demographics and clinical presentation; the infection status of most HIV-positive patients is unknown to ED staff. The risk to an EDW of occupationally acquiring HIV infection varies by ED location and the nature and frequency of BC; this risk can be reduced by adherence to universal precautions.
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Hosp Community Psychiatry · Apr 1993
Frequent psychiatric visitors to a Veterans Affairs medical center emergency care unit.
The study examined characteristics of patients who made repeat visits to the psychiatric emergency service of a Veterans Affairs medical center. ⋯ One-third of patients seen during a one-year period revisited the emergency service, a rate substantially higher than those reported for large urban non-VA hospitals. The higher rate may have been due to the longer sampling period, to a more seriously ill population, or to fewer community resources for veterans because of misperceptions about their eligibility.
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In the final analysis, implementing the ED funding model will not generate additional dollars for hospitals; rather the funding model will function as a tool for reallocating existing health care dollars. This function is particularly important as government funding for health care is subjected to increasing financial restraint. As such, the ED funding model will serve to further the Acute Care Funding Plan principles of fairness and equity, a recognition of the unique funding requirements for ambulatory care, and the need to develop cost-effective service delivery. Adherence to these principles is integral to maintaining the affordable, publicly administered national health care system Canadians have come to expect and cherish.
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Comparative Study
The Advanced Trauma Life Support Program in Manitoba: a 5-year review.
Twenty Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses were conducted at the University of Manitoba between 1982 and 1987. There were 302 registrants, 95 of whom were from rural communities. Twelve registrants failed the course. ⋯ Fifty-two percent thought the course should be mandatory for all physicians, and 100% thought it should be mandatory for all emergency-department physicians. The data suggest that although most physicians treat fewer trauma patients 5 years after their ATLS training, the course is still highly recommended, and it has improved trauma care. Although the ATLS program was intended primarily for rural physicians, more urban-based physicians registered for it.