Articles: emergency-services.
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A disaster that produces a multitude of patients may severely stress a community's health-care system, from the EMS system to the hospitals. Physicians involved in such an event must realize that they will have to change their normal mode of delivering care, having to make decisions with less than the normal amount of information, and doing the most good for the most salvageable patients. Some understanding of and appreciation for the unique problems that face emergency personnel in the field are important for physicians who do not normally interact with fire and EMS personnel, because it will allow them to realize that they are not alone in the chaos of a disaster. ⋯ Hospital physicians can do much to prepare themselves for these eventualities. Discussion and planning should be done among separate staffs (ICU, operating suite, emergency department), as well as among staff of the various disciplines so they can interact more effectively when a disaster occurs. Local disaster planners should receive input from hospital staffs so hospital capabilities are known and the field operation can mesh well with the hospital's operation.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
How well can radiographers triage x ray films in accident and emergency departments?
To assess the ability of radiographers to identify abnormal radiographs of patients attending accident and emergency departments. ⋯ Unselected radiographers can offer useful advice on radiographs to casualty officers, but their high rate of false positive diagnoses indicates that they cannot triage casualty radiographs sufficiently accurately to allow them to extend their current reporting role.
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Comparative Study
Survival after trauma--experience at an acute-care general hospital.
To assess the effectiveness of the management of acute traumatic illness at an acute-care general hospital. ⋯ It is possible, with few resources, to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the effectiveness of a trauma care service.