Objectives
Most medications administered to children are weight-based, and inaccurate weight estimation may contribute to medical errors. Previous studies have been limited to hypothetical patients and those in cardiopulmonary arrest. We aim to determine the accuracy of weight estimates by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel of children receiving medications and to identify factors associated with accuracy.

Methods
EMS records of children <18 years old receiving weight-based medications were merged with EMS staffing data and hospital records. The rate of accurate weight estimates, defined as a value within 20% of the actual weight, was evaluated as the primary outcome. Factors associated with patients and prehospital personnel were also evaluated.

Results
29233 transports occurring during the study period were reviewed, and 199 transports of 179 children were analyzed. The average experience of EMS personnel was 35.8 months (SD ±30.7). EMS personnel accurately estimated weights in 164/199 (82.4%) patients; estimated weights were within 10.8% (SD ±10.5) of the actual weights. Underestimated weights were associated with receiving doses outside of the therapeutic range. Inaccurate weight estimates were associated with age less than 10 years or cardiopulmonary arrest. There was a trend toward inaccurate weight estimates among children who presented with seizures.

Conclusions
EMS personnel are generally accurate in estimating weights of children. There was an association between underestimated weights and inaccurate medication dosing. Younger children or those presenting with seizure or cardiopulmonary arrest were more likely to have inaccurate weight estimates.

With the pervasive use of Facebook in work settings today, it should come as no surprise that logging onto social networks is just as common in critical-care hospital units. But for patients, this is troubling news.

A new study by researchers at the University of Florida Medical Center, recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, revealed an “unacceptably high” level of Facebook surfing, especially during peak times at night in the emergency department (ED).

That being said, there is a horrendous breakdown in this trust between the hurting and the healing in the emergency departments where many mental health patients are forced by default to go for acute and  chronic care. We make jokes about the TSA and the indignity of passing through the obligatory minefield of airports large and small since 9-11, but the same indignities are being visited on the mentally ill of America every day.

Cyclists account for one third of all transport related injury cases presenting at Queensland hospital emergency departments.

One of the biggest headaches for any security manager in the healthcare environment is dealing with risks associated with their emergency departments. Sitting in a hospital emergency room is an inherently stressful situation for most patients and their families. In fact, long wait times in emergency rooms was listed as one of the primary factors contributing to rising crime rates at healthcare facilities across the nation in a study underwritten by the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) released earlier this year. The answer to mitigating the risks found in the ER, according to experts, lies in how the facility is designed and constructed.

I am a health-care professional who for the last 15 years in an Emergency Room. If I may provide a few words of wisdom for patients: Screaming and yelling at the triage nurse does not ever help shorten your wait time, nor does coming by every five minutes to ask whether it is your turn; taking an ambulance does not mean you will be seen more quickly, nor does throwing names around. Asking the triage nurse “don’t you know who I am?” will never help your case.

Canadian artist Howie Tsui redesigned a pinball machine to turn it into a crude simulation of a musket-ball rattling around a soldier’s guts for a War of 1812-themed exhibition currently running at the Agnes Etherington Arts Centre at Queens University in Kingston.

Paying for your daily cup of joe is as easy as swiping your smartphone and folding the digital receipt into your records. But what if taking care of your medical needs with the swipe of a device were just as simple?

Thanks to Scanadu’s fast crowdfunding, we’re one step closer to making another futuristic technology a modern reality.

The startup’s real-life Star Trek-esque tricorder is called the Scout. The device requires about 10 seconds of direct contact to your left temple before it can spit out your vitals, including heart rate and ECG, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate, and oximetry (level of oxygen in the blood). Using an Android or iOS smartphone and Bluetooth, it can emulate an emergency room anywhere you need one.

Patients seeking care in the emergency room at Campbell County Memorial Hospital soon may be asked to make a deposit toward their bill before leaving the ER.

Now, the hospital does not ask for any payment in the ER. It bills patients at a later date for their procedures. 

The payment will be based on the patient’s insurance plan, but generally will range between $25 and $250, CCMH spokeswoman Karen Clarke said. The payment will be applied to the patient’s deductible and co-payment once total costs of the visit are calculated.

A message from Diane Vass, Executive Director