Em. Med. Annual Report 2011 - Hennepin County Medical Center
Em. Med. Annual Report 2011 - Hennepin County Medical Center
Em. Med. Annual Report 2011 - Hennepin County Medical Center
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Doug Brunette, MD Bill Heegaard, MD<br />
Our Clinical Practice<br />
Overview from<br />
the Assistant Chiefs of <strong>Em</strong>ergency <strong>Med</strong>icine<br />
Our last “annual” report was produced in 1998. The intervening years have brought many changes to our<br />
department. The numbers of the faculty, residents, physician extenders and mid level providers have<br />
increased along with our annual ED census and the acuity of our patients. We have witnessed increasing<br />
complexity of the practice of emergency medicine and the changing health care environment. Our<br />
patients are sicker, but managed with an ever-increasing desire and need to treat patients on an<br />
observational or outpatient basis.<br />
Significant modifications to the physical plant, as well as infrastructure occurred. Our Urgent Care <strong>Center</strong><br />
was moved immediately adjacent to the main emergency department and renamed <strong>Em</strong>ergency Express<br />
Care. <strong>Em</strong>Stat, the electronic medical record specific for emergency medicine and utilized by our<br />
department for 13 years, was replaced with the hospital wide EPIC system. <strong>Med</strong>ical imaging, electrocardiography<br />
and emergency department ultrasonography entered the digital age.<br />
The health care environment has been dramatically altered, by many factors not the least of which is passage<br />
of the Patient Affordable Care Act of 2010. Terms such as Accountable Care Organizations, Pay for<br />
14 | Department of <strong>Em</strong>ergency <strong>Med</strong>icine Activities <strong>Report</strong> | 2009-2010
Change language