Rider, MD, et al.

The goal of this study was to characterize current practices in the transition of care between the emergency department and primary care setting, with an emphasis on the use of the electronic medical record (EMR).

Basile, MD, et al.

The concept of “direct to room” (DTR) and “immediate bedding” has been described in the literature as a mechanism to improve front-end, emergency department (ED) processing. The process allows for an expedited clinician-patient encounter. An unintended consequence of DTR was a time delay in obtaining the initial set of vital signs upon patient arrival.

Artenstein, MD, et al.

Patient progress, the movement of patients through a hospital system from admission to discharge, is a foundational component of operational effectiveness in healthcare institutions. Optimal patient progress is a key to delivering safe, high-quality and high-value clinical care. The Baystate Patient Progress Initiative (BPPI), a cross-disciplinary, multifaceted quality and process improvement project, was launched on March 1, 2014, with the primary goal of optimizing patient progress for adult patients.

Kraftin E. Schreyer, MD, et al.

With increasing attention to the actual cost of delivering care, return-on-investment calculations take on new significance. Boarded patients in the emergency department (ED) are harmful to clinical care and have significant financial opportunity costs. We hypothesize that investment in an admissions holding unit for admitted ED patients not only captures opportunity cost but also significantly lowers direct cost of care.

Meir Dashevsky, MD, et al.

Point-of-care (POC) testing allows for more time-sensitive diagnosis and treatment in the emergency department (ED) than sending blood samples to the hospital central laboratory (CL).

John R. Marshall, MD, et al.

Given the nationwide increase in emergency department (ED) visits it is of paramount importance for hospitals to find efficient ways to manage patient flow.

Author Affiliation Lauran Hardin, MSN, RN-BC, CNL Trinity Health-Michigan dba Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan; National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, Camden, New Jersey Adam Kilian, MD Trinity Health-Michigan dba Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan; University of Utah Health Care, Department of Internal Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah Leslie […]

Does Pneumatic Tube System Transport Contribute to Hemolysis in ED Blood Samples?
Michael P. Phelan, MD, et al.

Our goal was to determine if the hemolysis among blood samples obtained in an emergency department and then sent to the laboratory in a pneumatic tube system was different from those in samples that were hand-carried.

Wide Variability in Emergency Physician Admission Rates: A Target to Reduce Costs Without Compromising Quality
Guberman, MD, MS, et al.

Attending physician judgment is the traditional standard of care for emergency department (ED) admission decisions. The extent to which variability in admission decisions affect cost and quality is not well understood. We sought to determine the impact of variability in admission decisions on cost and quality.

Volume 17, Issue 4, July 2016
David Prisk, DO et al.

Emergency department length of stay (ED LOS) is currently used in Australasia as a quality measure. In our ED, Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, have a shorter ED LOS than European patients. This is despite Maori having poorer health outcomes overall. This study sought to determine drivers of LOS in our provincial New Zealand ED, particularly looking at ethnicity as a determining factor.

Volume 17, Issue 4, July 2016
Michael Gottlieb, MD, et al.

Point-of-care (POC) pregnancy testing is commonly performed in the emergency department (ED). One prior study demonstrated equivalent accuracy between urine and whole blood for one common brand of POC pregnancy testing. Our study sought to determine the difference in result times when comparing whole blood versus urine for the same brand of POC pregnancy testing.