Recent Posts

  • Workplace Violence – New Joint Commission Standards

    The Joint Commission has new standards for Workplace Violence in healthcare.   We should not be surprised!   Effective January 1, 2022, new and revised Workplace Violence (WPV) prevention standards will apply to all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. “According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the incidence of violence–related health care […]

  • Behavioral Health (Post-Pandemic)

    Behavioral Health (Post-Pandemic)   Monica Cooke, BSN, MA, RN-C, CPHQ, CPHRM, DFASHRM TAKE-HOME:  Hospitals must be prepared for an influx of mental health patients as the Covid-19 pandemic wanes. The pandemic has led to an increase in suicide, substance use, and depression – the impact of which has yet to be fully realized. We offer […]

  • Hospital EMTALA Obligations Under Covid-19

    Does the Covid-19 Pandemic Change a Hospital’s Obligations under EMTALA?   Robert A. Bitterman, MD, JD, FACEP TAKE-HOME:  Although hospitals are now allowed to direct patients off-site for Covid-19 screening, most existing emergency department (ED) EMTALA requirements are still in place during the Coronavirus pandemic. These include the requirement to screen and stabilize every individual […]

  • Informed Consent – Informed Refusal

    By Sina Haeri, MD, MHSA Chief Medical Officer, Confirmed Consent Informed Consent is an essential component of patient care, and the clinician must ensure that the decision to proceed with the proposed intervention is truly an informed one. Although this is the ideal, for most, the reality is quite different. The process of obtaining an […]

  • EMTALA Covid-19 Waiver

    EMTALA Covid-19 Waiver   CMS Frequently Asked Questions – Coronavirus – EMTALA Covid-19 Waiver Robert A. Bitterman, MD, JD, FACEP © 2020, ED Quality Solutions, LLC, All Rights Reserved TAKE-HOME:  Most existing emergency department (ED) EMTALA requirements are still in place during the Coronavirus pandemic, including the requirement to screen and stabilize every individual who […]

  • EMTALA-Coronavirus-COVID-19

    Are Hospital Obligations Under EMTALA Changed by the Coronavirus?   Robert A. Bitterman, MD, JD, FACEP © 2020, ED Quality Solutions, LLC, All Rights Reserved Click to see our new EMTALA Update Class! (See May 5, 2020 Update: EMTALA-Coronavirus-COVID-19 ) At the present time the answer is ‘no’; however, in the very near future waiver of […]

  • Emergency Radiology Claims

    According to a recent study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology: 46% of Radiology claims studied were associated with medical care the Emergency Department. Jeffrey D. Robinson, MD, MBA, from the Department of Radiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues examined Emergency Radiology malpractice claims from 18 states from […]

  • Non-Opioid Pain Relief in the ED

    New Study Shows Adequate Acute Pain Control Achieved in the ED Without Use of Opioid Medications While an ED opioid prescription is not typically the initial source for most people who become addicted, the fact remains that we see a lot of patients with acute painful conditions and prescribe a lot of opioids. Because of […]

  • Just 3.3% of Visits to the ED are Truly “Avoidable”

    Unnecessary ED Visits There has been much focus lately over unnecessary ED visits, with insurers in several states refusing to pay for necessary ED care. This type of payment refusal hurts patients that present to the ER for legitimate reasons. Refuting to this assessment, in a recently published study, researchers found that only “3.3%” of […]