Emergency medical services (EMS) teams often provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and transport, and emergency room (ER) staff treat acutely ill or injured individuals in hospital settings. To maximize EMS and ER effectiveness and availability, RAND research provides policymakers with critical information, analyses, and recommendations on the coordination, communication, performance, protection, and training of these public health professionals.
BLOG
A better solution than restricting emergency department use by Medicaid enrollees is to reverse what for many years has been a trend of shrinking access to primary care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
COMMENTARY
The fact that many ED (emergency department) visits could be managed in primary care settings does not mean that such care is available, write Arthur L. Kellermann and Robin M. Weinick.
REPORT
The Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) aims to improve communities' ability to rapidly provide life-saving medications during public health emergencies. The authors examine (1) the status of communities' operational capability to meet the goal of delivering medical countermeasures within 48 hours of a federal decision to deploy assets and (2) whether there is evidence that CRI has improved communities' capability to meet that goal.
REPORT
The study reports on the evidence and potential for use of 'emergency readmissions within 28 days of discharge from hospital' as an indicator within the NHS Outcomes Framework, drawing on a rapid review of systematic reviews.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Describes the importance of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), and identifies common strengths and potential vulnerabilities of laboratory-specific COOPs.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
A wide range of products and services exist to help patients convey personal health information. Health care providers should be familiar with their features, so they can access the information in a disaster or emergency.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Between 1990 and 2009, the number of emergency rooms (ERs) in nonrural U.S. hospitals declined by 27 percent (from 2,446 to 1,779). Economic factors play a central role in an ER's ability to remain open.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Organizational culture differences between public health and emergency management entities may hinder inter-agency collaboration.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
This study found that the number of emergency departments operating in the US from 1990 to 2009 declined by 27%. EDs with safety-net status, for-profit ownership, and low profit margin were at higher risk of closure.
REPORT
This documented briefing presents the results of a rapid review of the funding landscape for complex trauma research in the UK. Recommendations are made about how to strengthen this niche and orphan area of research.
REPORT
Communities can build resilience to disasters through efforts such as joint planning of government and non-governmental organizations and the development of community networks.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Examines ways in which communities can improve their ability to withstand and recover from adversity.
NEWS RELEASE
Communities can build resilience to disasters through efforts such as joint planning of government and non-governmental organizations and the development of community networks.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Large local health departments could better inform planning and investments by using geographic information systems to align community needs and health outcomes with public health programs.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Children admitted to the hospital seem more likely to have a prolonged stay in the emergency department if they are Hispanic, come to the ED in the winter, and arrive early in the morning.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
The quickest way to assess the strength of a community's hospital systems is to spend a few hours in the emergency department.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Less than half of acute care visits in the United States involve a patient's personal physician. Emergency physicians, who comprise only 4 percent of doctors, handle 28 percent of all acute care encounters and nearly all after-hours and weekend care.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Analysts seeking to examine patterns of emergency department care must choose among the available datasets, bearing in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each source when conclusions based on the estimates it yields.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
This paper presents research recommendations from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on emergency department management of acute heart failure.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
National performance standards for public health preparedness can be developed based on existing evidence, but would be helped immensely by a stronger evidence base.
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