Let’s talk about the psychiatric boarding crisis

Physician
August 30, 2018

Imagine spending days or even weeks in an emergency room without treatment for a broken leg or painful kidney stone.

Patients in psychological crisis across the country are living this exact scenario. Long waits in an ER, hospital room or prison for an inpatient psychiatric bed, otherwise known as psychiatric boarding, are their unfortunate reality.

Rewind to over 50 years ago — as institutionalized patients were gradually integrated into communities, the availability …

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Let’s talk about the psychiatric boarding crisis

Belts or no belts on school buses?

Policy
July 16, 2018

The tragedy on a New Jersey highway in May involving a school bus and a dump truck horrified the nation while also raising familiar questions about school bus safety. The impact ripped the body of the bus off its chassis, killing two people and injuring most of the 45 passengers on board. By one witness’s account, “A lot of people were screaming, and they were, like, …

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Belts or no belts on school buses?

You’ll be surprised at how ERs are meeting their metrics

Physician
July 11, 2016

During a busy ED shift, my computer signaled the complaint and location of my next patient: a woman in bed 10 flagged with “GI bleed.”  I almost bolted to bed 10 to ensure this patient was stable, but then noticed orders pending, so my urgency eased.

“I see you already saw the patient in 10,” I began, addressing the triage physician.

“Yeah, she’s all set,” he replied, without turning from his computer. …

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You’ll be surprised at how ERs are meeting their metrics

Patients are blindfolded to charges and cost

Physician
July 5, 2016

As she adjusts her sunglasses, Mary squints to protect her sensitive eyes from the sun.  Four years ago when lymphoma threatened her life, doctors gave her a 5 percent chance of survival.

“I really should be dead right now,” she states casually. A bone marrow transplant gave this patient a new lease on life, allowing for the treasured opportunity to mother her 8-year-old son. The transplant has been successful, but her …

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Patients are blindfolded to charges and cost