A recent study found emergency departments are making progress but still falling behind national guidelines for pediatric emergency care.
The study, published July 7 in JAMA Network Open, assessed more than 3,550 emergency departments on a 100-point scale. The median score was 69.5. The results indicated progress from the last assessment in 2013, but still fell short of the 88 score, which represents the minimum score associated with improvements in survival.
"Comparing commonalities between the two assessments, we see improvement in five of six categories," lead author Kate Remick, MD, said in a EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center release. "This is especially positive given EDs were navigating the pandemic at the time of the survey."
Researchers noted that COVID-19 contributed to a decline in one pivotal category: designating a nurse and/or physician as pediatric emergency care coordinators. The number of EDs with coordinators dropped by 13.5 percent down to 28.5 percent in 2021. This drop alone was responsible for a 1.6 point decrease in the adjusted median score for hospitals.
Researchers emphasized the importance of designating coordinators, implementing pediatric-specific quality improvement plans and staffing with emergency medicine physicians.
A 2023 study found more than 1,400 children's deaths could have been prevented over a six-year period if every department had been prepared for pediatric cases.