Media education in pediatric residencies: a national survey.

Background: Little is known about the current state of residency education with respect to counseling parents about media usage and whether trainees consider it to be adequate.

Methods: A national survey of graduating pediatric residents was conducted in the United States to determine the amount of training they receive on traditional and new media, their perceptions of its quality, and their self-reported practices regarding talking to families about media usage.

Results: A 58% response rate was achieved with no evidence of response bias based on age or gender.

Using tele-education to train civilian physicians in an area of active conflict: certifying Iraqi physicians in Pediatric Advanced Life Support from the United States.

Years of violence have resulted in a lack of trained health care providers in Iraq. To address this need, International Medical Corps has implemented a national emergency care program for the country. As part of this program, we implemented via tele-education the country's first civilian course in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Mass casualty triage: an evaluation of the science and refinement of a national guideline.

Mass casualty triage is the process of prioritizing multiple victims when resources are not sufficient to treat everyone immediately. No national guideline for mass casualty triage exists in the United States. The lack of a national guideline has resulted in variability in triage processes, tags, and nomenclature.

Cost and utilization analysis of a pediatric emergency department diversion project.

Objective: States are struggling to find effective means to decrease Medicaid costs. The objective of this pilot study was to compare emergency department (ED) cost and utilization by members who were enrolled in a pilot program (designed to reduce the use of hospital EDs) with the costs and utilization incurred by a control group.

Methods: A large, private, primary care pediatric practice launched a pilot ED diversion program that provided extended office hours, multiple access locations, and care coordination.