Small rural emergency services can electronically collect accurate episode-level data: A cross-sectional study

Posted on March 25, 2015 by crem

Small rural emergency services (SRES), unlike larger emergency departments, seldom collect clinical and administrative data about every patient they manage.

Samantha Dawson, Tim Baker, and Scott Salzman studied six SRES that collected this type of detailed data for 12 months.

The SRES were able to collect accurate and mostly complete electronic episode-level data for 12-months with four hours per week of support. This study provides starting data accuracy benchmarks for specific fields collected in SRES and could be used to inform decisions about widespread electronic data collection across these services.

Access article on publisher’s site

Dawson SL, Baker T, Salzman S. Small rural emergency services can electronically collect accurate episode-level data: A cross-sectional study. Aust J Rural Health. 2015, Apr;23(2):107-11.

Small rural emergency services still manage acutely unwell patients

Posted on May 20, 2014 by crem

Australian small rural emergency services need to be prepared to manage diverse problems and urgent patients.

Dr Tim Baker and Samantha Dawson conducted a study that collected 12-months worth of episode-level data from 6 small rural emergency departments in Victoria’s south-west.

They found that a wide range of problems presented and that most of the common procedures were performed. Most importantly, almost 6% of 14318 emergency patients were in the two most urgent triage categories.

Baker T, and Dawson SL. Small rural emergency services still manage acutely unwell patients: A cross-sectional study [Internet]. Emergency Medicine Australasia. 2014;26(2):131-138.Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.12229

Farmers with acute chest pain are uncertain how and when to seek help

Posted on April 30, 2011 by crem

A pilot study of the prevalence of cardiac risk factors in a group of agricultural workers and of their decision-making abilities with regard to when and how they would seek help when experiencing chest pain has found that most put themselves at risk of dying.

Researchers Dr Tim Baker, (Centre for Rural Emergency Medicine), and Scott McCombe, Cate Mercer-Grant, and Susan Brumby, from the National Centre for Farmer Health and Western District Health Service, studied almost 200 farm men and women recruited from 20 rural Victorian sites. The farmers underwent health assessments for total cholesterol, blood glucose, weight, height and blood pressure, and they completed a survey to determine their knowledge of chest pain treatment, local emergency services, and likely response to chest pain.

In this study, researchers found that 61% of the farmers had cardiac risk factors, with 61% of men and 74% of women either overweight or obese. When asked to name their nearest ED, 10% of participants nominated health services or towns where no ED exists. Sixty seven percent of respondents believed it was safe to travel to hospital by car while potentially having a myocardial infarction.

Improving health literacy among farm men and women is of the utmost importance as they have higher rates of clinical risk factors and appear to be lagging in emergency knowledge and services when compared with their urban and regional counterparts, the researchers maintain.

Baker, T., McCoombe, S., Mercer-Grant, C. and Brumby, S. (2011), Chest pain in rural communities; balancing decisions and distance. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 23: 337–345. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-6723.2011.01412.x