The EMrecruits Weekly | February 10, 2015

Top Emergency Medicine News and Updates

Explore the top stories in emergency medicine news via our weekly newsletter below. Don't forget to visit our career site as well for a complete listing of our available emergency medicine careers.  

Emergency Department Evaluation of Blunt Orbital Trauma
from EM Resident

More than 2.5 million eye injuries occur each year. According to information gleaned from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), there were 636,619 emergency department visits related to eye injuries in 2008, representing an average of 1,744 ED visits daily. Blunt orbital trauma is a significant cause of ocular morbidity and among the common preventable causes of monocular blindness in developed countries...

Frostbite: How to Classify and Treat It
from EP Monthly

Frostbite is a freezing injury of peripheral tissues. It is characterized by extracellular crystal formation and micro-vascular thrombi that lead to localized cell death and inflammation, placing the digits or limbs involved at risk for amputation... 

How Interprovider Communication in the ED Affects More than What You Think
from EM Resident

Medicine is full of communication. We must communicate effectively with our patients and with other professionals on the care team. Duty-hour limits have also increased the number of shift-to-shift handoffs among residents and trainees, making communication even more critical...

Volume Trends for Urgent Cares and Freestanding EDs

During my IT update presentation at the 2014 PSR Leadership Conference, the following illustration was shown to depict emergency department visits nationally by year (blue line) and urgent care visits nationally by year (red line).

This gives you a quick idea of just how quickly urgent cares have overtaken emergency departments in terms of total volumes seen. This is sucking away a lot of the lower acuity, higher-profit margin patients that emergency departments have seen in the past.

The EMrecruits Weekly | February 3, 2015

Top Emergency Medicine News and Updates

Explore the top stories in emergency medicine news via our weekly newsletter below. Don't forget to visit our career site as well for a complete listing of our available emergency medicine careers.  

Patient Medical Record Fees Violating HIPAA Standard, Advocates Say
from Healthcare Finance News

Advocates are grilling healthcare providers over the prices they charge patients for electronic or printed medical records, claiming some fees may even go as far as to violate HIPAA rules...

Patient Engagement Key to Doing More with Less
from Fierce Practice Management

Today's physician practices are more burdened with administrative, technological and regulatory challenges than ever--all in the midst of dramatic reimbursement changes and a physician shortage... 

HHS sets Goals for Expanding New Medicare Payment Models
from Modern Healthcare

The Obama administration wants 30% of payments for traditional Medicare benefits to be tied to alternative payment models such as accountable care organizations by the end of 2016. The administration also has set a goal of hitting 50% by the end of 2018...

Inova Loudoun Hospital Foundation | Tribute to Cornwall Cares Campaign

The EMrecruits Weekly | January 27, 2015

Top Emergency Medicine News and Updates

Explore the top stories in emergency medicine news via our weekly newsletter below. Don't forget to visit our career site as well for a complete listing of our available emergency medicine careers.  

Rural Hospital Closures Leave Whole Communities Without Access to Emergency Care
from ACEP Now

A look at the trends and effects of rural hospital closures across America, and how Emergency Medicine physicians need to be part of the discussion...

The Trick Doctors and Nurses Use To Avoid Catching the Flu and Cold
from Today

Flu season is in full effect, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu vaccine has only been 23 percent effective against the virus. Here are the tricks to help prevent yourself from becoming ill...

ER Visits Still Rising Despite Affordable Care Act
from Modern Healthcare

Patient emergency room visits rose sharply at hospitals with the highest ER use in 2013, the last year before the Affordable Care Act's insurance expansion kicked in and many of the hospitals with the busiest ERs in 2013 are reporting even higher volumes in 2014 despite the nation's declining uninsured rate...