Tag: emergency-care-2

Intubation Tips, Part 1

March 23rd, 2017
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NO DESAT is an acronym created by Dr. Richard Levitan, a nationally recognized authority on airway management, for Nasal Oxygenation During Efforts at Securing a Tube. This very simple concept will allow you to have more time to intubate while maintaining adequate oxygenation. Although nasal oxygenation is a key component of hypoxia prevention during intubation, there are […]

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Posted in Hospitalist Medicine, Life in the ER, Skilled Nursing

Medicaid Rule for Emergency Departments Used a Hammer to Tighten a Screw

April 4th, 2012
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There are a thousand places to look for cost savings in healthcare, but this week in Washington State officials grappled with one of the most visible of those: emergency care. Thankfully, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has suspended implementation of a rule that would have denied emergency rooms payment from Medicaid if the patient was diagnosed […]

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Posted in Future of Healthcare

5 Strategies To Head Off Malpractice Claims in the ER

March 27th, 2012
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I have always had an interest in risk management in the ER, a world in which it is a statistical inevitability that there will be bad outcomes. This interest stems from my fundamental belief that Emergency Physicians are well-intentioned, morally upright individuals. And so it frustrates me when some bad outcomes lead to malpractice litigation. […]

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Posted in Leadership, Quality Efficiency Utilization

Leadership in the ED: Being a Floor General for Your Team

March 20th, 2012
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In sports, the most successful athletes are not necessarily those that have had the best individual statistics, but are those that have managed to make their teammates better around them: Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, or to use a hot new name – Jeremy Lin.  These athletes epitomize selfless leadership on the court. While their own […]

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Posted in Life in the ER

The Time to Act is Now

October 15th, 2010
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On Wednesday, I spent my morning at the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) in Baltimore listening and testifying to the proposed changes that will be occurring over the next several years to the health care delivery system in Maryland. It was the first in a series of ‘public comment’ sessions designed to help guide […]

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Posted in Future of Healthcare

Prescription Monitoring Programs Changes Opioid Prescribing Behavior – AKA Sometimes a Little Big Brother is a Good Thing

October 6th, 2010
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A recent article in Annals of Emergency Medicine involves the change in prescribing patterns when a prescription monitoring program is put in place. After reviewing past prescriptions, emergency physicians changed opioid prescribing plans for 41% of patients. Many states have instituted prescription monitoring programs to limit potential fraud and abuse of controlled substances. In 2006, Ohio instituted a […]

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Posted in Quality Efficiency Utilization

Body Language and Caring for Our Patients

September 7th, 2010
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The next patient was a 25 year old female in room 2. The nurse’s note read, “severe abdominal pain – rates it a 10 out of 10.” Like any good emergency medicine physician, I was already considering the differential diagnosis prior to entering the room. Severe pain in a young female could be an ectopic, […]

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Posted in Life in the ER, Patient Satisfaction

Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the Community Hospital

August 30th, 2010
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Emergency Departments (ED) across the country are consistently being pushed beyond capacity. The recently passed federal healthcare bill will not likely reduce the stress placed on EDs and volumes may in fact increase as a result of the legislation. Community hospitals in outlying suburban areas have gradually stepped up their pediatric emergency and subspecialty services […]

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Posted in Life in the ER