A framework for the discharge of patients from the adult emergency department

Abstract

The emergency room is a challenging place to practice medicine. Overcrowding, episodic care, and an interrupt driven environment are all factors contributing to medical errors in the ED . We performed a comprehensive literature review to determine the nature of these errors at time of discharge from the ED. We follow through with a retrospective electronic chart review focusing on potentially inappropriately written drugs in the elderly in the ED. We conclude by presenting an integrated web based patient discharge framework that we custom designed and recently implemented in the Vanderbilt Adult Emergency Department.