Review Archives - The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine

Endemic Infections

15 Smartphone Apps for Older Adults to Use While in Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Banskota, BS, et al.

Our objective was to narratively summarize 15 apps that address physical and cognitive limitations and have the potential to improve OAs’ quality of life, especially during social distancing or self-quarantine.

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Human Trafficking in the Emergency Department: Improving Our Response to a Vulnerable Population

Tiller, MD, et al.

We stress the importance of meeting the needs of the patient while prioritizing the safety of all involved. Additionally, the protocol provides a list of resources for the patient beyond medical care such as emergency housing, legal assistance, and food pantries. The overall purpose of this protocol is to provide coordinated response so that all providers may be consistent in caring for this vulnerable population.

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Injury Outcomes

Tackling the Global Challenge: Humanitarian Catastrophes

Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2014
Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, MBA et al.

“Humanitarian catastrophes,” conflicts and calamities generating both widespread human suffering and destructive events, require a wide range of emergency resources. This paper answers a number of questions that humanitarian catastrophes generate: Why and how do the most-developed countries—those with the resources, capabilities, and willingness to help—intervene in specific types of disasters? What ethical and legal guidelines shape our interventions? How well do we achieve our goals? It then suggests a number of changes to improve humanitarian responses, including better NGO-government cooperation, increased research on the best disaster response methods, clarification of the criteria and roles for humanitarian (military) interventions, and development of post-2015 Millennium Development Goals with more accurate progress measures.

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Ethical and Legal Issues

Medical-legal Issues in the Agitated Patient: Cases and Caveats

Volume 14, Issue 5, September 2013
Jessica Thomas, MD, et al.

More than any other area of emergency medicine, legal issues are paramount when caring for an agitated patient. It is imperative to have a clear understanding of these issues to avoid exposure to liability. These medico-legal issues can arise at the onset, during, and at discharge of care and create several duties. At the initiation of care, the doctor has a duty to evaluate for competence and the patient’s ability to consent. Once care has begun, patients may require restraint if they become combative or violent.

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Emergency Department Operations

Measuring Power in an Emergency Department to Improve Processes and Decrease the Length of Stay to their Optimum Value

Volume 14, Issue 5, September 2013
Bert A. Silich, MD, MS

Many emergency departments (EDs) compare themselves to national productivity benchmarks, such as the average patients/hour or relative value units (RVUs)/hour. Making these comparisons does not provide a tool to determine which processes need improvement, most urgently, within the ED to improve efficiency. Furthermore, there has been no clear means to determine how to set reasonable goals based on the capabilities of the particular ED under study.

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Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients: In conjunction with the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published significant data and trends related to the national public health burden associated with trauma and injury. In the United States (U.S.), injury is the leading cause of death for persons aged 1–44 years. In 2008, approximately 30 million injuries resulted in an emergency department (ED) evaluation; 5.4 million (18%) of these patients were transported by Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMS providers determine the severity of injury and begin initial management at the scene.

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