emDocs - May 18, 2016 - Author: Wheatley M - Edited by: Koyfman A and Long B
"For those of us who work in an ED with an observation unit, this is a question we get constantly from admitting teams. It can be frustrating to spend time working a patient up and reassessing them over a few hours in the course of a busy ED shift, having put in the thought that the patient would be best served on an inpatient team, only to have the admitting physician undercut your judgment, possibly without even seeing the patient.
So how can you decide? What tools or evidence is out there to help a busy ED provider decide who will do best in an observation unit vs on the floor? Let’s discuss some “do’s” and “don’ts” for patient selection for observation units..."