Definition of "Emergency department"

Last modified: 20 hours



Emergency department (ED) is an acute care facility treating Pt's without prior appointment, who have either arrived by their own means or by ambulance. It is usually found in a hospital or other primary care center (i.e. day to day health care, such as GP, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, OT, physiotherapist, etc). Because attendance is unplanned, ED's must provide initial Tx for a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, which can be life threatening and require immediate attention. In some countries, ED's can become important entry points for Pt's without other means of access to medical care. ED's usually operate 24/7, although staffing may vary to reflect Pt volume.

The resuscitation (aka trauma) area is a division with equiment and staff to deal with immediately life-threatening illnesses and injuries. It contains at least one doctor, and at least one (usually two) nurses with trauma and advanced cardiac life support training.

BIBA is an abbreviation for Brought In By Ambulance. LOS is an abbreviation for Length of Stay.

MET call involves the medical emergency team, and is designed for nurses or other staff, to alert and call other staff for help when a patient's vital signs have fallen outside a set criteria.

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Definition of Emergency department | Autoprac


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