When emergency physicians are faced with limited resources or extreme demand, they need to employ specific strategies to optimize resource utilization and outcomes, according to an article in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The authors identified six key surge capacity strategies, which were compiled from multiple sources:
1. Prepare. Hospitals can prepare for patient volume surges by stockpiling commonly needed items, such as morphine and intubation.
2. Conserve. Emergency departments should restrict the use of certain therapies or interventions to maintain supply.
3. Substitute. Substituting a limited resource with something that is functionally equivalent and more accessible can preserve the facility's resources. For example, physicians can use benzodiazepines instead of propofol for sedation of a tracheally intubated patient, according to the article.
4. Adapt. Creating new ways to use devices can replace a limited or nonexistent resource. For example, an anesthesia machine or Bi-level positive airway pressure machine could be used as a temporary ventilator, according to the article.
5. Reuse. Most material resources can be reused after appropriate cleaning and sterilization.
6. Reallocate. Physicians may be forced to allocate critical resources, such as ventilators, to the patients most likely to benefit. This should be done only as a last resort, according to the article.
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The authors identified six key surge capacity strategies, which were compiled from multiple sources:
1. Prepare. Hospitals can prepare for patient volume surges by stockpiling commonly needed items, such as morphine and intubation.
2. Conserve. Emergency departments should restrict the use of certain therapies or interventions to maintain supply.
3. Substitute. Substituting a limited resource with something that is functionally equivalent and more accessible can preserve the facility's resources. For example, physicians can use benzodiazepines instead of propofol for sedation of a tracheally intubated patient, according to the article.
4. Adapt. Creating new ways to use devices can replace a limited or nonexistent resource. For example, an anesthesia machine or Bi-level positive airway pressure machine could be used as a temporary ventilator, according to the article.
5. Reuse. Most material resources can be reused after appropriate cleaning and sterilization.
6. Reallocate. Physicians may be forced to allocate critical resources, such as ventilators, to the patients most likely to benefit. This should be done only as a last resort, according to the article.
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