Morganti Kristy Gonzalez, Bauhoff Sebastian, Blanchard Janice C, Abir Mahshid, Iyer Neema, Smith Alexandria, Vesely Joseph V, Okeke Edward N, Kellermann Arthur L
Rand Health Q. 2013 Jun 1;3(2):3. eCollection 2013 Summer.
The research described in this article was performed to develop a more complete picture of how hospital emergency departments (EDs) contribute to the U.S. health care system, which is currently evolving in response to economic, clinical, and political pressures. Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, it explores the evolving role that EDs and the personnel who staff them play in evaluating and managing complex and high-acuity patients, serving as the key decisionmaker for roughly half of all inpatient hospital admissions, and serving as "the safety net of the safety net" for patients who cannot get care elsewhere. The report also examines the role that EDs may soon play in either contributing to or helping to control the rising costs of health care.
本文所述研究旨在更全面地了解医院急诊科在美国医疗保健系统中所起的作用，目前该系统正随着经济、临床和政治压力而不断演变。通过定量和定性方法相结合，该研究探讨了急诊科及其工作人员在评估和管理复杂及重症患者方面不断演变的作用，这些患者约占所有住院患者的一半，是关键决策点，同时急诊科还为无法在其他地方获得治疗的患者充当“安全网中的安全网”。该报告还研究了急诊科可能很快在推动或帮助控制医疗保健成本上升方面所起的作用。
