Eyeballing Better than Testing in ER
A new report conducted that surveyed 6000+ ER nurses has determined "eyeballing" patients in the waiting room was more effective in determining patients who needed the most urgent care. https://emj.bmj.com/content/36/2/66 Simply eyeballing a patient may be more effective than using a formal structured assessment (algorithm) to prioritise those who are the sickest and therefore most in need of urgent medical care, finds research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. A basic clinical assessment seems to better predict those most at risk of death, even in the hands of healthcare professionals with relatively little emergency care experience, such as phlebotomists and medical students, the findings indicate. More here: https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/simply-eyeballing-patients-may-trump-formal-assessment-for-prioritising-seriously-ill/ Of course, why would there be a test to eyeball in the first place? It has to do with costs, and ways to reduce inta...