One last post on the ER….for awhile.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the ER is the portal of entry to our hospitals now, for better and for worse.
On the plus side, this means that most patients being admitted to general medical and surgical services (the big exception here is elective surgery–patients having elective operations don’t need to be triaged) have a workup at least started and are triaged appropriately to their destination.
A good ER evaluation should answer the following questions:
1. What’s the nature of the illness?
Are we dealing with the heart, the brain, or an abdominal organ? Is the cause an infection, a blockage, or a blood clot?
2. Based on #1, where will the patient best be situated?
Will the patient need intensive care, or will the “regular” floor be sufficient to attend to the issues at hand? Should the patient be admitted to a surgical team or a medical (non-surgical) team? Continue reading
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