Waiting to Be Seen: Where EM Policy Meets Practice is a new EM Cases blog series, authored by Dr. Howard Ovens, a veteran Emergency Department Director, whose main purpose is to share ideas and generate discussion on the role that public policy and administrative practices play in creating the conditions that help front line emergency providers achieve better patient outcomes.
Does a doc belong at triage? With emergency department overcrowding and long wait times becoming the norm, placing physicians at triage has gained traction as a potential solution. But does it actually improve patient care, or does it introduce new risks and inefficiencies? In this Waiting to Be Seen blog, Dr. Howard Ovens examines the benefits, medico-legal concerns, and limitations of physician-at-triage models, and proposes a practical alternative that may improve ED flow, make better use of limited physician resources, and provide more continuity of care for patients...
Dr. Howard Ovens reflects on the role of leader in the EM in this 2nd part of a 2-part Waiting to Be Seen blog series on EM leadership. He touches on mentoring, being committed, aligning with patients' interests, being a role model and a few quick takes on some controversial issues in EM...
In this Waiting to Be Seen blog Dr. Howard Ovens outlines 4 key learnings from his extensive career in EM leadership: Be a good clinician, get substantial real-world experience, take a long-term view of benefits and risks and get along with your counterparts in the leadership dyad...
In this month's Waiting to Be Seen blog Dr. Howard Ovens outlines challenges, innovations and coping strategies in the EM Crisis...
Thomas Friedman’s book The World Is Flat is an exploration of how globalization and modern communications technology have changed the world. Our emergency care systems entered the pandemic on decidedly bumpy terrain; can we use technology and innovation to flatten and protect them—to make them more resilient?
When you apply the same principles of a resilient system (integration, adaptation, self-regulation, diversity, and situational awareness) to stabilizing and innovating emergency medicine care networks, this could also have a broad reach and positive effect on improving outcomes for the populations we serve. Reframing service delivery redesign in a resilient systems context opens a wider spectrum of potential solutions and should seed some more creative and yet pragmatic approaches to closing the large FTE gap in emergency medicine. As COVID-19 has demonstrated, we cannot afford not to....
EM leaders have important voices for speaking on disaster preparation and response in our hospitals, health care systems, and communities. They also have a responsibility to bring their experience and perspectives to the recovery phase and to the redesign of health systems. Having a framework to inform our thinking will ensure our voices are aligned and have the greatest positive impact possible. Dr. David Petrie explores COVID-19 pandemic lessons and offers pointers for redesigning a better health care system...
COVID-19 is the greatest challenge our healthcare system has faced in a century. Let’s make sure we learn fast, and learn the right things, to get ready for the next challenge...
It remains to be seen whether influenza and COVID-19 will overlap. The actions we take now will determine how well we navigate the coming waves and resulting surges. We’re aiming for something closer to smooth sailing as opposed to capsizing or, worse, sinking. Dr. Kieran Moore and Dr. Howard Ovens explore preparation strategies for co-circulation of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 in this month's Waiting to Be Seen...
In this month's Waiting to Be Seen blog Dr. Howard Ovens explores The End of The Beginning: What’s Next for EDs in the Pandemic? Many questions have arisen now that we are a few months into the pandemic in North America: How long will ED volumes remain low? What will happen as hospital services ramp up? Will staff get tired of precautions? Will PPE supplies be maintained? What will happen during flu season? What mitigation strategies are available to us? Dr. Ovens explains how we must maintain vigilance in our EDs and not let our guards down. COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon...