Articles: emergency-services.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 1993
Comparative StudyReferral, admission, and discharge patterns in a pediatric emergency department in Israel.
The pediatric emergency department (PED) is an important component of the medical services provided by a hospital. The purpose of the study was to describe the patterns of referrals, admissions, and discharges in a PED to determine to what extent the PED is used solely as an emergency unit, as opposed to being used as a part of a set of primary care facilities. Data were recorded from 1200 patient charts, out of 19,000 visits to a PED in Israel in 1988. ⋯ The rate of admissions was low (11%). This study shows that a large part of the PED work is actually primary care. Some of the demographic, cultural, and ethnic reasons for these patterns are reviewed.
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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.