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
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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