U.S. sees 10 million more H1N1 vaccine doses next week

From Reuters:
Five drug companies are now increasing production of the vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu, and 10 million more doses are expected next week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Saturday.

ED’s: Efficient or Wasteful?

From Dr. Brenner, via Symtym (Twitter):
I have seen a lot of criticism of ERs lately. The new House Bill for healthcare reform introduces ways to reduce crowding and boarding in the ERs, and better prepare them for disasters like pandemics and Katrina-type travesties. But they also put the focus on reducing ER use, as if [...]

Flu 911 Taxi

From WALB:
Ed. Posted for the bolded quote… follow the link and read the story for important context.
Paramedics would still respond to 911 calls and examine every patient, but would not automatically take everyone to the hospital.
“We’ll actually advise them, ‘Hey, you don’t need to go to the hospital. We’re not going to take you by [...]

School nurse found passed out at school

From WALB:
A nurse at a Florida middle school was found passed out inside the school with a bottle of prescription painkillers. Some parents at school say they’re concerned that this incident could mean kids at the school had access to the drugs.
The nurse has not been charged with any crime and documents show that the [...]

Press Release: Nation’s Emergency Physicians Laud Emergency Care Provisions in New House Health Care Reform Bill

From ACEP:
Although many provisions in the new House health care reform bill are supportive of the nation’s emergency patients, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) today said the bill contains language about reducing unnecessary ER use, perpetuating a pervasive myth that even federal data show are inaccurate.
“The new House bill contains many excellent provisions [...]

Code Friday

Amusing post to the Student Doctor Network:
Attention Please! Attention Please! Code Friday!
Attention please! Attention please! Attention please! This is the hospital PBX operator addressing all patients currently waiting in primary waiting rooms in the medical office building portion of the medical center. It is now 3:00 pm on Friday. Your primary care doctor’s [...]

CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic and Allina Hospitals & Clinics Form Strategic Partnership

From PRNewswire (tip from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog):
MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), and Allina Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota and western Wisconsin have formed a partnership to pursue collaborative activities that will focus on enhancing high-quality health care services in the communities they serve. MinuteClinic is the [...]

Airhead

Ed. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
From Emergency Medical Journal:
Spontaneous intraparenchymal tension pneumocephalus triggered by compulsive forceful nose blowing.

Complementary therapy use amongst Emergency Medicine patients

From Complementary Therapies in Medicine:
Objectives
To determine the percentage of Emergency Medicine patients using Complementary Therapies (CTs), to investigate what types of CTs are used most commonly, and to gauge the acceptability of studies of CT effectiveness in a hospital setting.
Method
Prospective cross sectional survey using a convenience sample of adult patients, presenting to the Emergency Care [...]

Emergency treatment of acute ischemic stroke: Expanding the time window

From Current Treatment Options in Neurology:
Opinion statement:  Intravenous thrombolysis has been shown to improve outcome in patients with ischemic stroke if given within the first 3 hours. This benefit extends into a 4.5-hour time window when applied in a more selected patient population. Strokes from large-vessel intracranial occlusion carry high morbidity and respond poorly to [...]