Articles: emergency-services.
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This article reviews the current legal environment in which radiologists practice medicine and some of the key problems radiologists may experience. Particular attention is given to the need for accurate communication, complete charting, and carefully performed procedures. Information is also provided about the requirements for informed consent. Recommendations are made for dealing with patient grievances and with patients' attorneys after a lawsuit has arisen.
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A prospective study was carried out during the month of November, 1990 in the A&E Department, St John's Hospital, Livingston in order to assess the extended role of the A&E nurse and their ability to request X-rays prior to patients being seen by a doctor. A total of 579 randomly selected patients were triaged by A&E Department nurses. ⋯ Of those patients who had an X-ray after seeing a doctor, more than 90% fell within the X-ray triage criteria but had not had an X-ray requested by the triage nurse. Overall, nurses were shown to request X-rays correctly and efficiently with the result that patients had to spend less time in the A&E Department.
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To provide Australian data from a community setting on the use of the Emergency Department by elderly persons. ⋯ These studies demonstrate that the Emergency Department is a major area for care of the elderly and entry into the hospital system. Referral from a general practitioner and the use of ambulance transport from home to the Emergency Department are frequent pathways of care that may have important cost-benefit implications and deserve further study. The elderly in these studies appear to use the Emergency Department appropriately for acute medical/surgical need. The social profiles suggest that widowed women present a special case in terms of discharge plans for management.