LocumLife - February 2009 - (Page 5)

INSIGHTS Stat! News locum tenens physicians can use IN BRIEF… Shortage of ED docs predicted Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital say having one board-certified emergency physician for each U.S. hospital may not happen anytime soon. Using data from the 2005 National Emergency Department Inventories USA database, they found that only 55% of the demand was met in 2005. An intermediate scenario, that assumed a 2.5% loss per year of emergency doctors, noted it would take until 2038 to reach the optimal goal. Surgeon checklist reduces complications and death D Litigation filed against ‘conscience’ ruling Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven states against a federal regulation that he says could endanger women’s healthcare and threaten their constitutional rights. In separate lawsuits, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, have joined to block the legislation, which gives health professionals the right to refuse to perform medical services they find objectionable based on their beliefs. esigned similar to an airline pilot’s pre-flight checklist, surgeons around the world are now implementing safety measures of their own to use in the operating room (OR). The pilot study, initiated in 2007 by the World Health Organization, was employed internationally at hospitals in eight cities, including Seattle, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Auckland, Amman, Manila, and Ifakara. Proven to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality rates, the 19-point checklist enhances consistency of care by ensuring that the surgical team is aware of important patient details before anesthesia begins, before the first incision is made, and before the patient is removed from the OR. “We know that many surgical complications are preventable,” said Dr. Bryce Taylor, University Health Network’s Surgeon in Chief, who coauthored the study for Toronto General Hospital. “With approximately 234 million surgeries performed each year worldwide, we owe it to our patients to look at every opportunity to prevent complications during and after surgery.” Surgical teams participating in the “Safe Surgery Saves Lives” program have seen more than a 33% decrease in the rate of major complications in ORs, and over a 40% drop in the death rate when using the safety checklist. The most dramatic changes occurred in developing countries, where the combined death rate for Jordan, India, Tanzania, and the Philippines fell 52%. “I have been using the checklist for a year, and I don’t get through a week when we don’t catch something,” said lead researcher Dr. Atul Gawande, an associate professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health and a surgeon at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital, Boston. “Often they are small things, but I’ve seen it save the life of a patient.” With such positive results, locum tenens practitioners will soon be using the surgical checklist in Washington, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, and New York. For further details, visit http://www.who.int/patient safety/safesurgery/en/index.html. BOOKSHELF Emergency Medicine - Expert Consult: Online and Print DID YOU KNOW… Most Smoke-Free Metro Areas: 1. Provo-Orem, UT - 93.5 % 2. Bethesda-GaithersburgFrederick, MD - 89.5 % 3. Ogden, UT - 89.4 % 4. Brownsville, TX - 88.2 % 5. Durham, NC - 88.0 % Source: U.S. News and World Report. (16 December 2008). 10 smokiest U.S. cities—and 10 most smoke-free, too. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/ living-well-usn/2008/12/16/10-smokiest-uscities--and-10-most-smoke-free-too.html James G. Adams, MD, FACEP (2008/2,312 pages/$189.00/Hardcover/ ISBN: 978-1-4160-2872-7/Saunders) Designed for the busy emergency department (ED) physician, this comprehensive text features detailed information on a wide variety of clinical conditions. Included in this volume are sections on head and neck injuries; pulmonary, cardiac, and vascular diseases; metabolic and endocrine disorders; infections; and more. The work also contains clinical photographs and illustrations of x-ray films, diagrams, and clinical pathways. Online access to the companion Expert Consult offers a quick reference to regular updates and downloads. The guide is available through www.us.elsevierhealth.com. www.LocumLife.com FEBRUARY 2009 LocumLife 5 http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/index.html http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/index.html http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/12/16/10-smokiest-us-cities--and-10-most-smoke-free-too.html http://www.LocumLife.com

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LocumLife - February 2009 Editorial Insights Contents From Nalto Stat! Money Matters Resources Last-Minute Luxury Opening the Door Med Ec-cerpts Winning the Battle Career Center Advertisers' Index Opportunities Direct Residency Corner Destinations Contest Rules Anyone's Guess La Vita Locum

LocumLife - February 2009

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