Tag: communication

How to Communicate with Patients in the ER: First Seek to Understand

September 25th, 2012
by:

A new patient is placed in room 18. I read the chief complaint as I sign up to see the patient: 32-year-old male seeking detox from narcotics. Let’s be honest: most of us in emergency medicine are not thrilled to see this patient. First of all, in most cases, there is not much that we […]

read article

Posted in Leadership, Life in the ER

Should ER Groups Use Locums? Passing the Baton in Connecticut

September 19th, 2012
by:

One of the first issues an emergency medicine group must address when they take over a new Emergency Department is whether to employ temporary locums providers to staff the department. The pressure is on to staff up, and many groups use locums as a stop-gap until they have hired full-time emergency physicians. Other groups may […]

read article

Posted in Hospital Partnership, Leadership

The Importance of Being Clinicians AND Educators

September 13th, 2011
by:

He had just had a tumor removed from his back and his lung. He was in the hospital bed with a chest tube, an IJ, and a foley. He had been intermittently confused, as expected, and was in no condition to sign the consent. That left his wife, who was about to sign. What else […]

read article

Posted in Leadership, Life in the ER

CT Scan Use Increasing. Now, What?

August 31st, 2011
by:

A recent review of data from the University of Michigan Health System revealed what many of us working to make Emergency Departments more efficient already knew: more emergency doctors are ordering more CT scans. Using data from 1996 through 2007, researchers found nearly 1 in 7 ED patients now get a CT scan. The rate […]

read article

Posted in Quality Efficiency Utilization