Telehealth in trauma: A scoping review.

Background: The purpose of this scoping review was to ascertain how 'telehealth' is utilised within health care, from pre hospital to admission, discharge and post discharge, with patients who have suffered major trauma.

Methods: A scoping review of the literature published in English since 1980 was conducted using MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Austhealth, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; Cochrane library) and Web of Science MEDLINE and MEBASE to identify relevant studies.

Results: We included 77 eligible studies with both randomised controlled trial and cohort design methodology.

Implementation of the 'Healthier Drinks at Healthcare Facilities' strategy at a major tertiary children's hospital in Brisbane, Australia.

Objective: The World Health Organization recommends people reduce their free sugar consumption to <10% of daily energy intake. This study aimed to determine the viability of the 'Healthier Drinks at Healthcare Facilities' strategy to reduce the amount of free sugar available in beverages and influence consumer purchasing patterns.

Methods: Beverage environment modifications at a children's hospital limited the availability of less healthy options.

Management of adult cardiac arrest in the COVID-19 era: consensus statement from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

Introduction: The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused significant worldwide disruption. Although Australia and New Zealand have not been affected as much as some other countries, resuscitation may still pose a risk to health care workers and necessitates a change to our traditional approach. This consensus statement for adult cardiac arrest in the setting of COVID-19 has been produced by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and aligns with national and international recommendations.

Widespread Introduction of a High-Sensitivity Troponin Assay: Assessing the Impact on Patients and Health Services.

Adoption of High-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) assays by hospitals worldwide is increasing. We sought to determine the effects of a simultaneous state-wide hs-cTn assay introduction on the implementing health service. A quasi-experimental pre-post design was used.

Predicting clinical deterioration with Q-ADDS compared to NEWS, Between the Flags, and eCART track and trigger tools.

Background: Early warning tools have been widely implemented without evidence to guide (a) recognition and (b) response team expertise optimisation. With growing databases from MET-calls and digital hospitals, we now have access to guiding information. The Queensland Adult-Deterioration-Detection-System (Q-ADDS) is widely used and requires validation.

Emergency medicine's COVID future: Facing the triple challenge after flattening the curve.

After successfully avoiding the situations experienced by some countries, Australasian EDs now face a future in which the ongoing threat of COVID-19 is added to the traditional challenges in providing quality emergency care. The contribution of emergency medicine to the national containment strategy adds a new dimension to the demands placed on emergency medicine in Australia and similarly, to the elimination strategy employed in New Zealand. These demands will best be met by a considered, planned and resourced approach that will challenge traditional measures of 'ED efficiency'.

Queensland smoking care in adult acute mental health inpatient units: Supporting practice change.

Objective: To review a clinical practice improvement approach to statewide implementation of smoking care in adult acute mental health inpatient units across public mental health services in Queensland.

Method: Queensland public mental health services, with adult acute inpatient units, joined a statewide collaborative to work together to increase the routine screening of smoking and delivery of a Smoking Cessation Clinical Pathway brief intervention to identified smokers.

Results: Over a 2-year period, statewide improvements were demonstrated in the recording of smoking status (88-97%) and in the provision of a brief smoking cessation intervention to smokers (38-73%).

The development of a modified comprehensive geriatric assessment for use in the emergency department using a RAND/UCLA appropriateness method.

Background: The universal screening and comprehensive assessment of older persons presenting to the emergency department is considered useful, yet is difficult to embed. A number of assessment instruments exist however they are not widely used and there is a lack of agreement between clinicians as to which tools are best suited to the emergency department. The aim of this study was to develop a modified comprehensive geriatric assessment using consensus methodology for use by the multidisciplinary team in the emergency department.

The effects of therapeutic activity kits in emergency department patients with dementia: Study protocol for a pragmatic randomized control trial.

Aim: To determine the effectiveness of therapeutic activity kits on health service use and treatment delivered in the emergency department (ED) in patients with pre-morbid dementia.

Design: Pragmatic randomized control trial with equal parallel groups.

Methods: Participants with dementia will be randomly assigned to the control group (N = 56) or the intervention group (N = 56).

Forecasting daily counts of patient presentations in Australian emergency departments using statistical models with time-varying predictors.

Objective: This research aimed to (i) assess the effects of time-varying predictors (day of the week, month, year, holiday, temperature) on daily ED presentations and (ii) compare the accuracy of five methods for forecasting ED presentations, including four statistical methods and a machine learning approach.

Methods: Predictors of ED presentations were assessed using generalised additive models (GAMs), generalised linear models, multiple linear regression models, seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models and random forest. The accuracy of short-term (14 days), mid-term (30 days) and long-term (365 days) forecasts were compared using two measures of forecasting error.

Diagnosis of urinary tract infection in older persons in the emergency department: To pee or not to pee, that is the question.

Doreen is a 79-year-old woman referred by her general practitioner to the ED for intravenous antibiotics for a urinary tract infection (UTI). She lives in a residential aged care facility (RACF) and staff report malodourous and cloudy urine. She denies dysuria or frequency.

Digitising an Australian university hospital: qualitative analysis of staff-reported impacts.

Objective This study aims to assist hospitals contemplating digital transformation by assessing the reported qualitative effects of rapidly implementing an integrated eHealth system in a large Australian hospital and determining whether existing literature offers a reliable framework to assess the effects of digitisation. Methods A qualitative, single-site case study was performed using semistructured interviews supplemented by focus groups, observations and documentation. In all, 92 individuals across medical, nursing, allied health, administrative and executive roles provided insights into the eHealth system, which consisted of an electronic medical record, computerised decision support, computerised physician order entry, ePrescribing systems and wireless device integration.

Compression garment service model: Facilitating access to compression garments through workforce and service redesign.

Problem: Patients in Queensland have had difficulty in accessing lymphoedema services, particularly in rural and remote locations.

Design: The aim was to trial and evaluate a compression garment service model, to provide care for patients with lymphoedema closer to their homes. The service model trialled compression garment, selection, fitting and monitoring services for stabilised malignancy-related lymphoedema undertaken by generalist therapists.

Digital transformation of hospital quality and safety: real-time data for real-time action.

The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care has created the National Safety and Quality Health Service standards that all hospitals must address in order to remain accredited. This case study details the first known digitisation of the 10 national quality and safety standards mandated in a quaternary integrated digital hospital. A team of clinical informaticians, information technology experts and clinicians was assembled.