Emergency department
hideThe emergency department (ED), sometimes termed the emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW), accident & emergency (A&E) department or casualty department is a hospital or primary care department that provides initial treatment to patients with a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, some of which may be life-threatening and requiring immediate attention. Emergency departments developed during the 20th century in response to an increased need for rapid assessment and management of critical illnesses. In some countries, emergency departments have become important entry points for those without other means of access to medical care. The abbreviation ER is generally used throughout the United States, while A&E is used in many Commonwealth nations. ED is preferred in Canada and Australia, and Casualty is common in Scotland.
Upon arrival to the ED, people typically undergo a brief triage, or sorting, interview to help determine the nature and severity of their illness. Individuals with serious illnesses are then seen by a physician more rapidly than those with less severe symptoms or injuries. After initial assessment and treatment, patients are either admitted to the hospital, stabilized and transferred to another hospital for various reasons, or discharged. The staff in emergency departments can include not only doctors and nurses, but physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners with specialized training in emergency medicine and in house Paramedics and/or emergency medical technicians, respiratory therapists, radiologic technologists, Healthcare Assistants (HCAs), medical scribes, volunteers, and other support staff who all work as a team to treat emergency patients and provide support to anxious family members. The emergency departments of most hospitals operate around the clock, although staffing levels are usually much lower at night. Since a diagnosis must be made by an attending physician, the patient is initially assigned a chief complaint rather than a diagnosis. This is usually a symptom: headache, nausea, loss of consciousness. The chief complaint remains a primary fact until the attending physician eventually makes a diagnosis.
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News tagged with emergency department
Parents: Be mindful of hazardous holiday ornaments
Dec 14, 2009 |
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A new study from Children's Hospital Boston's Division of Emergency Medicine has found that holiday decorations, particularly glass ornaments, are one more safety hazard parents must consider during the season. ...
Artificial Intelligence Shuffles Schedules, Cuts Patients' Wait Times
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Some of the same artificial intelligence (AI) underlying NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is now streamlining patient care at Strong Memorial Hospital, helping radiologists and technologists ...
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Novel nanotechnology heals abscesses caused by resistant staph bacteria
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. The study ...
Poll finds 3/4 of parents who tried to get H1N1 vaccine for their children have gotten it
Dec 22, 2009 |
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A new poll by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows the shortage of H1N1 vaccine for children is easing. As of late last week, three-quarters of parents who tried to get the vaccine for their children ...
From terrorism to HIV, it's all about the network
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Similarities between webs of terrorists and networks of rescue personnel may seem unlikely. To an eclectic collaboration of engineers and social scientists, the connections are not only possible, but a potential ...
Doctors' bedside skills trump medical technology
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 18, 2009 |
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Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.
Want to live well? Harvard experts offer pragmatic pointers on getting healthy and staying there
Dec 17, 2009 |
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You are what you eat. You're also how you feel, how you exercise, how you sleep, how you handle money, how you relate to people, and what you value.
IBM Reveals Five Innovations that Will Change Cities in the Next Five Years (w/ Video)
Dec 17, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (9) |
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Today, IBM unveiled a list of innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in cities around the globe over the next five to ten years.
IU informaticists show new levels of refinement in predicting human mobility, epidemic spread
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The interplay of human mobility patterns like those between local metropolitan commuters and long-range airline travelers during a global epidemic can be modeled in such detail so as to offer ...
About 25 percent of Arabs in Greater Detroit reported abuse post Sept. 11
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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One quarter of Detroit-area Arab Americans reported personal or familial abuse because of race, ethnicity or religion since 9/11, leading to higher odds of adverse health effects, according to a new University of Michigan ...
Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long.
Pandemic toolkit offers flu with a view
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As communities brace for rising wintertime influenza cases, scientists are developing a mathematical and visual analytic toolkit to help health officials quickly analyze pandemics and craft ...
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