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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 room
What's in health care proposals for 5 Americans
Dec 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- As Congress gets closer to a final health care bill, many Americans want to know: What's in it for me?
The Medical Minute: New toy safety standards bring parents confidence
Dec 16, 2009 |
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The holiday season is here and for many kids that means one thing: toys. About half of all toy purchases in the United States occur between the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Researchers develop drug interface to save lives
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 10, 2009 |
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A drug information interface system developed by two University of Alberta researchers has been shown to help in dealing with visual and motor impairments, which can make sorting, holding and indentifying pills a challenge ...
Parent mentors can improve the asthmatic care of minority children, researchers find
Nov 30, 2009 |
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UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that informed adults can help families stave off complications associated with asthma. The findings, available online and in the December issue of Pediatrics, suggest that i ...
Search results for emergency room
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.
Smart phones allow quick diagnosis of acute appendicitis
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Radiologists can accurately diagnose acute appendicitis from a remote location with the use of a handheld device or mobile phone equipped with special software, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of ...
CPR is successful without mouth-to-mouth, but not without oxygen
Nov 30, 2009 |
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People can survive cardiac arrest if they receive only chest compressions during attempts to revive them - as advised by the current American Heart Association guidelines. But they cannot survive without access to oxygen ...
Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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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.
Minimally invasive surgery removes sinus tumor without facial disfiguration
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Only about one in 2,000 people in the United States get a sinus tumor, but Johnnie Wilcox was one of the unfortunate few.
26 operations, 13 kidneys: hope to few with little
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Twenty-six operations put healthy kidneys into 13 desperately ill people: Doctors in the nation's capital just performed a record-setting kidney swap, part of a pioneering effort to expand transplants ...
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.
List of search results for emergency room
