Emergency department workflow

OBJECTIVE: Medical errors threaten patient safety, especially in the pediatric emergency department (ED) where overcrowding, multiple handoffs, and workflow interruptions are common. Errors related to process variance involve situations that are not consistent with standard ED operations or routine patient care. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: We performed a planned subanalysis of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network incident reporting data classified as process variance events...

Background: To improve acute trauma care workflow, the number of trauma centers equipped with a computed tomography (CT) machine in the trauma resuscitation room has increased. The effect of the presence of a CT machine in the trauma room on a patient's outcome is still unclear. This study evaluated the association between a CT machine in the trauma room and a patient's outcome. Methods: Our study included all trauma patients admitted to a trauma center in Yokohama, Japan, between April 2014 and March 2016...

PURPOSE: The interface design and its effect on workflow are key determinants of the usability of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the emergency department (ED). However, whether the overall clinical care can be improved by dividing the interface design of physical findings into medical and trauma findings is unknown. We previously developed an EMR system in which the checkpoints were separated into different sections according to the body part. Herein, we modified this EMR system by remaking the interface design specifically for trauma patients, and evaluated its performance...

AIMS: Registries on in-hospital drug use are sparse, especially those that can be linked to nationwide registries. In this study, we present and validate the Electronic Patient Medication module (EPM)-the electronic administrative database on in-hospital drug use covering the Capital Region of Denmark. METHODS: The research database (EPM-research) is an adaptation of the database underlying the electronic administrative database for in-hospital drug use (EPM-clinic)...

BACKGROUND: Adverse drug events are unintended and harmful events related to medications. Adverse drug events are important for patient care, quality improvement, drug safety research, and postmarketing surveillance, but they are vastly underreported. OBJECTIVE: Our objectives were to identify barriers to adverse drug event documentation and factors contributing to underreporting. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 1 ambulatory center, and the emergency departments and inpatient wards of 3 acute care hospitals in British Columbia between March 2014 and December 2016...

PURPOSE: Results of a study to apply lean methodology to an inpatient pharmacy workflow to optimize timely administration of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-approved antibiotics for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock are presented. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted at an 802-bed institution using lean methodology to assess the inpatient pharmacy workflow for dispensing antibiotics to adult patients. The preintervention and postintervention phases occurred from February to September, 2015, and from October 2015 to May 2016, respectively...

The analysis of clinical workflow offers many challenges, especially in settings characterized by rapid dynamic change. Typically, some combination of approaches drawn from ethnography and grounded theory-based qualitative methods are used to develop relevant metrics. Medical institutions have recently attempted to introduce technological interventions to develop quantifiable quality metrics to supplement existing purely qualitative analyses. These interventions range from automated location tracking to repositories of clinical data (e...

OBJECTIVE: Shorter time from symptom onset to treatment is associated with improved outcomes in patients who undergo mechanical thrombectomy for treatment of acute ischemic stroke due to emergent large vessel occlusion. In this work, we detail pre-thrombectomy process improvements in a multi-hospital network and report the effect on door-to-puncture time in patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A streamlined workflow was adopted to minimize door-to-puncture time...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to quantify the variability of language in free text reports of pulmonary embolus (PE) studies and to gauge the informativeness of free text to predict PE diagnosis using machine learning as proxy for human understanding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 1,133 consecutive chest CTs with contrast studies performed under a PE protocol and ordered in the emergency department in 2016 were selected from our departmental electronic workflow system...

Background Like other integrated health systems, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has widely implemented telehealth during the past decade to improve access to care for its patient population. During major crises, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has the potential to transition healthcare delivery from traditional care to telecare. This paper identifies the types of Veterans Affairs telehealth services used during Hurricane Sandy (2012), and examines the patient characteristics of those users. Methods This study conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses...

Background The diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke requires timed and coordinated effort across multiple clinical teams. Purpose To analyze the frequency and temporal distribution of emergent stroke evaluations (ESEs) to identify potential contributory workflow factors that may delay the initiation and subsequent evaluation of emergency department stroke patients. Material and Methods A total of 719 sentinel ESEs with concurrent neuroimaging were identified over a 22-month retrospective time period. Frequency data were tabulated and odds ratios calculated...

Shortening emergency department (ED) boarding time and managing hospital bed capacity by expediting the inpatient discharge process have been challenging for hospitals nationwide. The objective of this study is was to explore the effect of an innovative prospective intervention on hospital workflow, specifically on early inpatient discharges and the ED boarding time. The intervention consisted of a structured nursing "admission discharge transfer" (ADT) protocol receiving new admissions from the ED and helping out floor nursing with early discharges...

The appropriate communication and management of incidental findings on emergency department (ED) radiology studies is an important component of patient safety. Guidelines have been issued by the ACR and other medical associations that best define incidental findings across various modalities and imaging studies. However, there are few examples of health care facilities designing ways to manage incidental findings. Our institution aimed to improve communication and follow-up of incidental radiology findings in ED patients through the collaborative development and implementation of system-level process changes including a standardized loop-closure method...

OBJECTIVES: Dealing with multiple workflow interruptions is a major challenge in emergency department (ED) work. This study aimed to establish a taxonomy of workflow interruptions that takes into account the content and purpose of interruptive communication. It further aimed to identify associations of workflow interruptions with ED professionals' work stress. DESIGN: Combined data from expert observation sessions and concomitant self-evaluations of ED providers...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Variability exists in the evaluation of nonaccidental trauma (NAT) in the pediatric emergency department because of misconceptions and individual bias of clinicians. Further maltreatment, injury, and death can ensue if these children are not evaluated appropriately. The implementation of guidelines for NAT evaluation has been successful in decreasing differences in care as influenced by race and ethnicity of the patient and their family. Our Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely aim was to increase the percent of patients evaluated in the emergency department for NAT who receive guideline-adherent evaluation from 47% to 80% by December 31, 2016...

Importance: Emergency resuscitation of critically ill patients can challenge team communication and situational awareness. Tools facilitating team performance may enhance patient safety. Objectives: To determine resuscitation team members' perceptions of the Situational Awareness Display's utility. Design: We conducted focus groups with healthcare providers during Situational Awareness Display development. After simulations assessing the display, we conducted debriefs with participants...

INTRODUCTION: ED overcrowding is an issue that is affecting every emergency department and every hospital. The inability to maintain patient flow into and out of the emergency department paralyzes the ability to provide effective and timely patient care. Many solutions have been proposed on how to mitigate the effects of ED overcrowding. Solutions involve either hospital-wide initiatives or ED-based solutions. In this article, the authors seek to describe and provide metrics for a patient flow methodology that targets ESI 3 patients in a vertical flow model...

PURPOSE: Operational efficiency improvements for pharmacy workflow processes were evaluated using a barcode-enabled and integrated medication-tracking system for medications dispensed from the pharmacy to the emergency department (ED). METHODS: The preimplementation study period (Period 1) was defined as November 17-December 16, 2015; system implementation and training, were defined as December 17, 2015-January 18, 2016; and postimplementation (Period 2) was defined as January 19-February 17, 2016...

PURPOSE: Distraction is a relatively simple, evidence-based intervention to minimize child distress during medical procedures. Timely on-site interventions that instruct parents on distraction coaching are needed. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and usability of the Distraction in Action Tool© (DAT©), which 1) predicts child risk for distress with a needle stick and 2) provides individualized instructions for parents on how to be a distraction coach for their child in clinical settings...

BACKGROUND: It is unclear how workflow interruptions impact emergency physicians at the point of care. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to evaluate interruption characteristics experienced by academic emergency physicians. METHODS: This prospective, observational study collected interruptions during attending physician shifts. An interruption is defined as any break in performance of a human activity that briefly requires attention. One observer captured interruptions using a validated tablet PC-based tool that time stamped and categorized the data...