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Cambridge University Press978-1-107-02234-8 — Observation MedicineEdited by Sharon E. Mace FrontmatterMore Information
Using sample clinical protocols, order sets, and administrative policies thatany hospital can use, this book gives a detailed account of how to set up andrun an observation unit (OU) and reviews conditions in which observationalmedicine (OM) may be beneficial. In addition to clinical topics such asimproving patient outcomes and avoiding readmissions, it also includespractical topics such as design, staffing, and daily operations; fiscal aspectssuch as coding, billing, and reimbursement; regulatory concerns such asaligning case management and utilization review with observation; nursingconsiderations; and more. The future of OM, and how OM can help solvethe healthcare crisis from costs to access, is also discussed. Although basedon U.S. practices, this book is also applicable to an international audience,and contains instructions for implementing observation in any setting orlocale and in any type of hospital or other appropriate facility.
Sharon E. Mace is Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College ofMedicine of Case Western Reserve University; Director of Observation Unit, Directorof Research, and previously Director of Pediatric Education/Quality Improvement atthe Emergency Services Institute, Cleveland Clinic; and a member of the Faculty ofMetroHealth Medical Center/Cleveland Clinic Emergency Medicine Residency inCleveland, Ohio.
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Names: Mace, Sharon E., editor.Title: Observation medicine : principles and protocols /edited by Sharon E. Mace.Other titles: Observation medicine (Mace)Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York :Cambridge University Press, 2016. | Includesbibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2015048881 | ISBN 9781107022348(Hardback : alk. paper)Subjects: | MESH: Emergency Service, Hospital |Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures | EmergencyMedicine–methods | Watchful Waiting–methods | PatientAdmissionClassification: LCC RT48 | NLMWX 215 | DDC 616.07/5–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015048881
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This is a wonderful, much needed book by awonderful, much learned author. Dr. Mace hasdecades of experience in observation medicineand even more in emergency medicine leadership.This book not only includes the best summary todate of what EM observation medicine has beenbut also provides a road map to the future. If yourpractice includes observation medicine, you needthis book. Rock on, Dr. Mace.
Nick Jouriles, MD, FACEP Chair, EM, ClevelandClinic Akron General: Professor & Chair, EM,Northeast Ohio Medical University; President,ED Benchmarking Alliance; Past President,American College of Emergency Physicians
“Observation Medicine: Principles and Proto-cols” edited by Dr. Sharon E. Mace is a relevantand timely textbook to Emergency Medicine. Ithas unique content as it relates to the developmentof both adult and pediatric observation medicine.The book is written in an easy to read format withmany outstanding ideas on how to implementobservation medicine in the emergency depart-ment. This is an indispensable resource!
Isabel A. Barata, MS, MD, MBA, FACP, FAAP,
FACEP
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and EmergencyMedicine, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine;Pediatric Emergency Medicine Service Line Qual-ity Director, Emergency Medicine and PediatricsService Line; Director of Pediatric EmergencyMedicine, North Shore University Hospital
Finally! After decades, an up-to-date authorityon observation units and observation medicine. Ifyou are in any way involved in this dynamicaspect of emergency medicine, this book is foryou. From the clinical to the administrative tothe convoluted billing and regulatory issues, thisbook is a wealth of information that will help younavigate this complex area of emergency medical
practice. The included clinical protocols, alone,are worth their weight in gold; they will give youan excellent basis for the wide range of problemswe can safely deal with through observation medi-cine. I just wish we had access to the knowledgeand wisdom contained in this book when westarted our observation unit in 1979!
Stephen V. Cantrill, MD, FACEP
Denver Health Medical CenterUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine
Observation medicine is the perfect tool for pro-gressive emergency physicians to leverageimprovements in cost, quality and patient satis-faction. I have seen physician groups and hos-pitals struggle to collect all the informationnecessary to build and run an observation medi-cine service effectively, sometimes taking years toget it right. We have needed this book for a longtime, and now it’s here – a single source for thebest information on what, why and how todevelop an observation service that lasts and addsvalue to your hospital partner.
James R. Blakeman
Executive Vice PresidentEmergency Group’s Office, San Dimas, CA
Dr. Mace’s Observation Medicine is a must havefor all physicians and administrators who have orwould like to start an observation unit. Jammedwith helpful tips, useful clinical protocols andadministrative guidelines, it will guarantee thesuccess of your program!!
Ann M Dietrich, MD, FAAP, FACEP
Associate Professor Ohio University HeritageCollege of MedicineMedical Director of Education Ohio ACEP
As a longstanding residency director, it is diffi-cult to provide the training needed to keep up withthe advancements in emergency care. Observation
medicine is proving to be an extremely valuableaddition to emergency care, and emergency medi-cine residents need to be exposed and trained inthis facet of emergency care. Dr. Mace’s textbook,ObservationMedicine, provides a valuable trainingresource useful to all emergency medicine residen-cies. This textbook provides the backgroundneeded to not only work within an emergencydepartment that has an Observation unit, butpotentially to develop one. This is a great resourcefor training in Observation Medicine.
Michael S. Beeson, M.D., MBA
Program Director of Emergency MedicineProfessor | EM | Northeast Ohio MedicalUniversityDirector | American Board of EmergencyMedicineCleveland Clinic Akron General
The face of health care is changing and that is agood thing. However, we are a stubborn group andchange is difficult. Dr. Mace’s book describesobservation care in a manner that is easily under-stood by all healthcare providers and administra-tors. What we are unfamiliar with We are afraidof. . . Dr. Mace’s book will provide the knowledgeyou need to embrace the change and leverage theobservation services you deliver. As a nurse, wecontinue to care for our patients the same as wealways have but in a shorter span of time, this bookshares invaluable information in resource manage-ment, time management and expedited care man-agement. This book is a MUST HAVE for successin our evolving health care environment.
Ethel Games, RN
Emergency Room NurseFountain Valley Regional HospitalFountain Valley, California
This text will serve as the “go to" resource forhealth care providers managing patients in anobservation unit. The book is well organized withchapters that focus on the content most relevantto contemporary observation medicine. There isno doubt it will become required reading for theobservation medicine curriculum in EM resi-dency programs.
Michael Brown, MD, MSc
Professor, Michigan State University College ofHuman Medicine
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine,Michigan State University Grand Rapids,Michigan
The Textbook Observation Medicine: Prin-
ciples and Protocols edited by Sharon E. Mace isa must have in your Emergency Medicine Library.Dr. Mace, an experienced Emergency Physicianpracticing Observation Medicine for Adultsand Children at the Cleveland Clinic HospitalSystem for decades, has assembled a team of con-tributors representing the best and brightest ofEmergency Medicine. In the ninety-six (96)Chapters of this book, the reader will learn every-thing you need in implementing an ObservationUnit for your Emergency Department and yourhospital. The breath of this book is exhaustive.The chapters are organized into multiple sections.They include: “Administration, Clinical Settingand Education, New Developments, Financial(including coding and reimbursement), ClinicalProtocols, Administrative Policies, Order Setsfor Adults and Pediatrics, and much more.”
Economics and the desire to provide optimalcare for Emergency patients who needed just alittle bit more time to stabilize their care, arrive ata definitive answer, or prepare patients for safedischarge home without a hospital admission,helped to drive the development of this special-ized area of Emergency Medicine.
As written, in the forward by Greg Henry,MD, FACEP, (Past President of the AmericanCollege of Emergency Physicians), “Rememberthe goals: cost-effective care, time-efficient care,the best patient outcomes, and more compassion-ate human-centered care. Observation medicinecan achieve these goals.”
This book can help establish an ObservationUnit as part of your Emergency Departmentthrough its guidance of Administration, Proto-cols, exploring the types of Clinical Problems thatwould best be served by these units. They alsobring in the experts of reimbursement to helpyou pay for the services you provide. If youalready have an Observation Unit, this book isessential to operating that unit correctly and at ahigher level. If it is your responsibility, as anEmergency Department Leader (Director, Associ-ate Director, or responsible for medical or nurs-ing education), the protocols and educationalmodules will make your life easier.
Do yourself a favor and purchase this book foryourself and your department. You will be gladyou made the investment.
Andrew I. Bern, MD, FACEP
Past Member, ACEP Board of DirectorsPast, Chairman of the ACEP Board of Directors
We currently sit amidst one of the most trans-formational periods in healthcare, with a risein consumer based value assessments that aredriving care. For those with new or worsenedillness or injury, observation care is a key toolafter emergency department care to optimizeoutcomes and enhance value. This ObservationMedicine text assembles the knowledge needed,from organization and oversight through
symptom-driven approaches and disease specificcare. Rather than searching through many texts orsites, Dr. Mace and her team created a singularsource that uses a clear and accessible formatto aid those wanting to start or improve theirobservation unit.
Donald M. Yealy, MD
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine,University of Pittsburgh / University of Pitts-burgh Physicians; Senior Medical Director,Health Services Division, and Vice President ofEmergency and Urgent Care Services, UPMC;Professor of Emergency Medicine, Medicine, andClinical and Translational Sciences, University ofPittsburgh School of Medicine
Sharon E. Mace, MD, FACEP, FAAP is boardcertified in emergency medicine and pediatrics.She is a Professor of Medicine at the ClevelandClinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case WesternReserve University and is full time faculty in emer-gency medicine for the MetroHealth MedicalCenter/Cleveland Clinic Emergency MedicineResidency Program in Cleveland, Ohio. She hasover 37 years of administrative and clinical experi-ence in emergency medicine in academic and com-munity hospital settings including nearly a decadeas a Director of the Emergency Department in aCommunity Hospital. She is currently an attendingphysician in the Emergency Services Institute at theCleveland Clinic. She is the Director of Researchand has been the first and only Director of theObservation Unit at the Cleveland Clinic for thepast 23 years since the inception of the “ClinicalDecision Unit” in 1994, where she has been able tomentor medical students, residents and even sev-eral international fellows in observation medicine.The observation unit at the Cleveland Clinic is a20 bed unit that places about 6,000 patients a yearin the Observation Unit. She has also been Directorof Pediatric Education and Quality Improvementfor the Cleveland Clinic Emergency Services Insti-tute. She has lectured nationally and internation-ally on emergency medicine especially observationmedicine. She has served as the Chairman of theSection of Observation Medicine for the AmericanCollege of Emergency Physicians and on theObservation Medicine Committee for the Societyof Hospital Medicine that authored a white paperon observation medicine. She has authored over200 articles in the medical literature, over 60 text-book chapters (excluding this textbook) and editeda previous medical textbook and now this secondauthoritative and comprehensive textbook onobservation medicine. She has been the recipientof numerous grants and awards including a
National Science Foundation Research Fellowship,Academic Residency Science Day Award, NationalChapter Project Award, State Emergency MedicalServices Council Award for Leadership and Excel-lence in Emergency Medical Services, the Ameri-can Association of Women Emergency PhysiciansResearch and Education Award, and Who’s Whoin America and Who’s Who in the World. She hasserved as a course director for numerous medicalcourses including many national conferences onObservation Medicine and has even been amember of the Pediatric Medical Care Subcommit-tee for the National Presidential Commission onChildren and Disasters.
Section Editors
Matthew J. Campbell, Pharm.D., BCPS obtainedhis Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Ohio North-ern University and subsequently completed aPharmacy Practice Residency at MetroHealthMedical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He is alicensed pharmacist in the state of Ohio and is aBoard Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist(BCPS). He has received numerous honors andawards including the Ohio Northern UniversityPresidential Merit Scholarship, Institutional Pre-ceptor of the Year at the College of Pharmacy atLake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine,Pharmacist Mission Award at Cleveland Clinic,and the Promoting the Profession Award atCleveland Clinic. He has had numerous presenta-tions locally and nationally and is activelyinvolved with pharmacy resident education atCleveland Clinic. He practiced as a Clinical Phar-macy Specialist in the surgical ICU of a commu-nity hospital for several years and is currently theLead Pharmacist in the Emergency Services Insti-tute at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.He is the Section Editor for the Section IX: 1Adult Order Sets and Section IX: 2 PediatricOrder Sets.
Karen Games, RN, has over 40 years ofexperience as a registered nurse and as a casemanager. She received her nursing degree fromSouth Surburban College in Illinois, and com-pleted a Critical Care Specialty Nursing Courseat Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Heracademic credentials include the followingtraining and certifications: FHP ManagementTraining – Quality Education System, HFMABilling Compliance and a five year CertificationProgram in Case Management (CCM). She is alsoan InterQual Certified Trainer. She has been aconsultant and a national speaker on Case Man-agement. With her extensive nursing, case man-agement, and administrative experience, she hashad an opportunity to develop multiple programs,policies and procedures related to nursing, casemanagement, and observation medicine. Hervarious administrative positions include servingas a Regional Case Management Director, a PMICase Management Specialist, the Director of CaseManagement Education and Informatics for theTenet Health System. She has also been the Dir-ector of Risk Management and Patient Safety forDesert Regional Medical Center in California andmost recently, Administrative Director of Collab-orative Care at Los Alamitos Medical Center, alsoin California. She is the Section Editor forChapter 7: Nursing, Chapter 64: Determiningthe Correct Status and Chapter 65: CareCoordination.
Michael Granovsky, MD, CPC, CEDC,FACEP is board certified in emergency medicine.His certifications in coding include the AmericanAcademy of Professional Coders (AAPC) – Certi-fied Professional Coder and AAPC – CEDC ED
Specialty Certification. He has been a member ofthe American College of Emergency Physicians(ACEP) for 20 years, a member of the AAPC for15 years and has served for nearly 15 years on theACEP Physicians Coding and NomenclatureAdvisory Committee (CNAC), including threeyears as the CNAC National Chairman. He hasspoken nationally at numerous conferences andhas been the author of many articles in profes-sional publications dealing with reimbursement,practice management issues, CPT, ICD–9, CMSissues and ICD–10. He has served as the coursedirector for the ACEP Coding and Reimburse-ment Conference for over a decade. He has beenon the editorial board and served as the editor forED Coding Alert. He is the Technical Editor ofthe AAPC ED specialized CPC–CEDC Emer-gency Department Coding Specialty Certification.He is the subject matter expert on the EDSpecialty Exam and Study Guide for the AAPC.His service on national committees includesimmediate past chairman ACEP NationalCoding Advisory Committee, Work Group ChairICD–10 – ACEP Quality and Performance Com-mittee, ACEP Expert Technical Panel for QualityMeasure Development, ACEP Registry TaskForce and the ACEP Reimbursement Committee– Fair Payment Work Group Chair. Dr. Gran-ovsky is currently the Chairman of the ACEPReimbursement Committee. As the President,Division of Coding for Logix Health; he is respon-sible for health policy, coding, education, andregulatory processes with oversight of seven mil-lion annual emergency department claims. He isthe Section Editor for Section V: Financial Codingand Reimbursement and Chapters 1 and 2.
Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic LernerCollege of Medicine at Case Western ReserveUniversity, Faculty, MetroHealth/ClevelandClinic Emergency Medicine ResidencyDirector, Observation Unit and Director,Research Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH
Robert E. O’Connor, MD, MPH, FACEP
Chair, Physician-in-Chief, Department ofEmergency Medicine, University of VirginiaHealth System, Charlottesville, Va. Chair, Boardof Directors, American College of Physicians
Louis Graff MD FACEP FACP FACC.
Professor Surgery and Emergency Medicine.Clinical Professor Medicine.University of Connecticut School of Medicine.Chair Utilization Review Committee.Hartford Healthcare Corporation Central RegionHospitalsFarmington, CT
David Robinson, MD, MS, MMM, FACEP
Professor and Vice-Chairman ofEmergency Medicine, University of TexasMedical School at Houston;Chief of Emergency Services, Lyndon B. JohnsonHospital, Harris Health System Houston, TX
Christopher W. Baugh, MD,MBA, FACEP
Medical Director of Clinical Operations andObservation MedicineDepartment of Emergency Medicine | Brigham &Women’s HospitalAssistant Professor Harvard Medical SchoolBoston, MA
J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACEP, FACP
Executive Vice Chair, Emergency MedicineBrigham and Women’s HospitalAssociate Professor, Harvard Medical SchoolBoston, MA
Karen Games, RN
Director of Process Improvement, Los AlamitosMedical Center
Gregory L. Henry, MD, FACEP
Clinical Professor Department of EmergencyMedicine, University of Michigan Medical School,Ann Arbor, MI, Past President, American Collegeof Emergency Physicians
Elaine Thallner, MD, MS
Organizational Development and ChangeManagementStaff Physician, Emergency Services Institute,Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
Ryan Prudoff, DO, MS, FACEP
Staff Emergency Physician, Cleveland ClinicFoundationClinical Associate Professor Emergency MedicineOhio University Heritage College of OsteopathicMedicineCleveland, OH
Stephen Sayles, MD, FACEP
Director Cleveland Clinic Brunswick EmergencyDepartment, Cleveland Clinic Foundation,Cleveland, OH
Robert S. Bennett, MD
Director, Observation Unit, Highland HospitalRochester, NY
Jonathan Glauser, MD, FACEP
Professor Emergency Medicine Case WesternReserve University.Faculty Emergency Medicine ResidencyMetroHealth/Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH
David J. Paje, FACP, SFHM
Assistant Professor at University of MichiganMedical SchoolAssociate Director, Medical Short Stay Unit,University of Michigan Health System
Staff Physician, Ann Arbor VA HealthcareSystemAnn Arbor, MI
Peter Y. Watson, MD, FACP, SFHM
Division Head of Hospital MedicineHenry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI
Pawan Suri, MD
Chair, Division of Observation MedicineProgram Director, Combined EM/IM ResidencyProgramDepartment of Emergency MedicineAssistant Professor in Emergency Medicine andInternal MedicineVirginia Commonwealth University MedicalCenterRichmond, VA
Margarita Pena, MD, FACEP
Medical Director, Clinical Decision UnitAssociate Program Director, EmergencyMedicineSt. John Hospital and Medical CenterDetroit, MI
L. Christine Gilmore, MD
Physician, Wake Forest Baptist Medical CenterDepartment of Emergency Medicine Winston-Salem, NC
Bret A. Nicks, MD, MHA, FACEP
Chief Medical Officer, Wake Forest BaptistHealth - Davie Medical CenterEmergency Medicine Winston-Salem, NC
Catherine T. Puetz, MD, FACEP
Attending Physician Department of EmergencyMedicineGrand Rapids, MI
Kayur V. Patel MD, FACP, FACPE, FACHE, FACEP
Chairman, Access2MD Terre Haute, Indiana
Igor Kozunov, MBA, MHA
Chief Executive Officer, Wellness For LifeMedical, LLCIndianapolis, IN
Louella Vaughan, MBBS, MPhil, DPhil, FRACP
Consultant Physician in Acute Medicine, TheRoyal London HospitalSenior Clinical Research Fellow, The NuffieldTrust,
Senior Clinical Research Fellow, NorthwestLondon CLAHRCLondon, UK
Tertius T. Tuy, MD
Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, FormerResearch Fellow, Cleveland Clinic Foundation,Emergency Services Institute, Cleveland, OH
W. Frank Peacock, MD, FACEP, FACC
Professor, Emergency MedicineAssociate Chair and Research DirectorBaylor College of MedicineHouston, Texas
Jieun Kim, MD
Medical Officer, Singapore General Hospital,Singapore Former Research Fellow, ClevelandClinic Foundation, Emergency Services Institute,Cleveland, OH
T. Andrew Windsor, MD, RDMS, FAAEM
Assistant Professor, Department of EmergencyMedicineUniversity of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimore, MD
Amal Mattu, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Professor and Vice-Chair, Emergency Medicine,University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Kami M. Hu, MD
Critical Care Medicine Fellow, University ofMaryland Medical CenterDepartments of Internal and EmergencyMedicineBaltimore, MD
Eric Anderson MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAEM
Faculty Cleveland Clinic – MetroHealthEmergency Medicine ResidencyFaculty Emergency Medicine Cleveland ClinicLerner College of MedicineCleveland, OH
Chew Yian Chai, MD, MCEM, FAMS
Consultant/ EDTU Director, National UniversityHospital Emergency Medicine Department,Singapore
Carol L Clark MDMBA FACEP
Professor, Oakland University William BeaumontSchool of MedicineAssociate Director of Research
Department of Emergency MedicineBeaumont Health Systems- Royal Oak, MI
Michelle A. Wiener, MD, MS
Clinical Faculty, Wayne State University Schoolof MedicineSt. John Medical Center, Detroit , MI
Matthew Tabbut, MD, FACEP
Attending Physician, Department of EmergencyMedicine, MetroHealth Medical CenterAssistant Professor of Emergency Medicine,Case Western Reserve University School ofMedicineCleveland, OH
Saurin Bhatt, MD, MBA
Faculty Cleveland Clinic – MetroHealthEmergency Medicine ResidencyFaculty Emergency Medicine Cleveland ClinicLerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
Mark G. Moseley MD, MHA, FACEP
Vice Chairman for Clinical AffairsThe OSU Department of Emergency MedicineMedical Director for Utilization ManagementThe Ohio State University Health SystemColumbus, OH
Miles P. Hawley, MD, MBA
Senior Medical Director, System Hospitalist andObservation ServicesDirector, Physician Advisor ServicesOhioHealth Columbus, OH
Taruna Aurora, MD
Assistant Professor, Departments of Emergency &Internal MedicineDirector, Clinical Decision Unit, EmergencyDepartmentMedical Director, Department of CareCoordination and Utilization ManagementVirginia Commonwealth University HealthSystemsRichmond, VA
Kimberly A. Ressler, MD, MSN
Attending PhysicianRochester General Hospital Rochester, NY
Matt Lyon, MD, FACEP
Professor and Vice ChairmanDirector, Emergency Department ObservationUnit
Director, Center of Ultrasound Education andResearchDepartment of Emergency Medicine andHospitalist ServicesMedical College of Georgia, Augusta University
Leah S. Taylor, MA
Instructor, Augusta UniversityAugusta, GA
Robert W. Gibson, PhD, MSOTR/L FAOTA
Professor, Director of ResearchDepartment of Emergency MedicineMedical College of GeorgiaAugusta University, Augusta, GA
Kaiser Permanente Senior Clinician Physician inEmergency Medicine,Director of Emergency Observation Medicine,Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento, CA
Elizabeth A. Rees, MD
Attending Physician, Methodist Medical CenterOak Ridge, TN. (formerly Wake Forest BaptistHealth Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC)
Claire Pearson MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of EmergencyMedicineDivision of Clinical Research, Wayne StateUniversity School of Medicine
Robert D. Welch, MD, MS, FACEP
Professor , Wayne State University School ofMedicineDirector of Clinical Research, Department ofEmergency MedicineDetroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, MI
Brian Kern, MD
Attending Physician, Detroit Medical Center,Clinical Assistant Professor, Department ofEmergency Medicine, Wayne State UniversitySchool of Medicine
Veronica Sikka MD, Phd, MHA, MPH, FACEP
Veronica Sikka, MD, PhD, MHA, MPH, FAAEM,FACEPChief, Emergency Medicine
Orlando VA Medical CenterAssociate Professor, Emergency MedicineUCF School of Medicine Orlando, FL
Renee Reid, MD, FACEP
Assistant Professor, Virginia CommonwealthUniversity Richmond, VA
Harinder Dhindsa, MD, MBA, MPH
Associate Professor, AttendingPhysician, Virginia Commonwealth UniversitySchool of Medicine, Chief of EmergencyMedicine, Richmond, VA
Aderonke Ojo, MBBS
Associate Professor of PediatricsBaylor College of MedicineAttending ED Physician, Texas Children’sHospital, Houston, TX
Fredric M. Hustey, MD, FACEP
Attending Physician Cleveland ClinicAssociate Professor, Cleveland Clinic LernerCollege of MedicineCase Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Nathaniel L. Scott, MD, FACEP
Program Director, EM / IM Combined ResidencyProgramStaff Physician, Emergency Medicine andHospital Medicine, Hennepin County MedicalCenterAssistant Professor, University of MinnesotaMedical School Minneapolis, MN
James R. Miner, MD, FACEP
Chief of Emergency MedicineHennepin County Medical CenterProfessor of Emergency MedicineUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Steven J. Walsh, MD
Fellow, Carolinas Poison Center, Chapel Hill, NC
Marsha Ford, MD, FACEP
Former President, American Association PoisonControl Centers, Adjunct Professor UNC-ChapelHill School of Medicine, Toxicoligist/AttendingPhysician Carolinas Healthcare System Charlotte,NC
Constance J. Doyle, MD, FACEP
Clinical Instructor Emergency MedicineUniversity of Michigan, Attending Physician
St Joseph Mercy Hospital Emergency Medicine,Ann Arbor, MI
Chief Medical Information Officer - PhysicianAdvisorBronx Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, NY
Sandra Sieck, RN, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, Sieck HealthCareMobile, Al
Heather Tuffin, MBChB (UCT), DipPEC (CMSA)
Improvement Advisor, WesternCape Department of Health, Capetown,South Africa
LA Wallis, MBChB, FRCS, DIMCRCS, Dip Sport
Med, FCEM, FIFEM
Professor and Head of Emergency Medicine,Stellenbosch UniversityHead of Emergency Medicine, Western CapeGovernmentPresident, International Federation forEmergency MedicineProfessor and Head of Emergency Medicine,University of Cape Town, South Africa
Malcolm Mahadevan MD, FRCS, MRCP, FAMS
Associate Professor, National University ofSingaporeHead and Senior Consultant, National UniversityHospital System, Singapore
Department of Emergency MedicineSant’Andrea Hospital, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Medical and Surgery Science andTranslational MedicineUniversity “Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
Angelo Ianni, MD
Department of Emergency MedicineSant’Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy
Christina Bongiovanni , MD
Department of Emergency MedicineSant’Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy
Dylan Jenkins, MBBS
Consultant, Doncaster Royal InfirmaryDoncaster, United Kingdom
Professor of Surgery and Emergency MedicineColegio Mayor del Rosario UniversityChairman of the Emergency DepartmentFundación CardioInfantil - Instituto deCardiologíaBogotá D.C. - COLOMBIA
Madeline Joseph, MD, FACEP, FAAP
Professor of Emergency Medicine and PediatricsAssistant Chair of Pediatric Emergency MedicineQuality Improvement, Department of EmergencyMedicineUniversity of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, FL
Sean Bush, MD, FACEP
Professor of Emergency Medicine Brody Schoolof Medicine East Carolina University, AttendingPhysician Vidant Medical Center Greenville, NC
Matthew J. Campbell, Pharm. D., BCPS
Lead Pharmacist Emergency Department,Cleveland Clinic.Cleveland, OH
Science in many ways has become an inter-national bully. It expects everyone to stop theirday-to-day life as “we scientists” prod and probethe human body doing everything we can to belit-tle human life and reduce the patient to a soullessheart-lung preparation without value, virtue, andthe essence of humanity removed. The more timethe patients spend in the giant monolith knownas the tertiary care hospital, the less real patient’slives become.
Enter this book and more importantly thefield of observation medicine. First things first.Most books don’t need a foreword! Get on with it,but in the best traditions of foreword writing I’mgoing to set forth a framework as to where medi-cine is to go if we are to have any economicviability as a profession and still meaningfullyimprove outcomes.
Let’s draw some quick conclusions as to wheremedicine stands at the year 2016. What have welearned from the past? First, most things thathappen in hospitals have unintended conse-quences, i.e. “Bad things happen; even with thebest of intentions.” The sooner we get you out ofthe hospital, the less likely you are to pick up aninfection we can’t cure or fall and break your hip.This is a change from my early life in medicinewhere we assumed that the death rate was lowerinside these huge structures of science than out onthe streets or at home.
Second, costs count! You can die at home forfree and if we can’t make a real contribution to ameaningful life, what are we doing, and why arewe charging so much money for it? Human flour-ishing is not equivalent to having a heartbeat.
Third, Charlie Chaplin’s classic film,“Modern Times” was made during the machineage when there was a wide spread fear that tech-nology was setting the agenda for human life.“Taylorism” as the Marxist used to put it, wasputting rigid unvarying thought before actionsor consideration of outcomes. Substitute
computer for the word machines and you haveour own age.
Fourth, there is no controlled governor on thecurrent system. Dr. John Rogers once comment-ing on medicine said, “They gave us an unlimitedbudget, and we over spent it.” Will the uselessCPR ever stop?
With these thoughts in mind, let’s predictwhere medicine will be and why this book shouldbe extremely useful. The emergency departmentsof America have become centers of clinical deci-sion making. The ED is where all important deci-sions of inpatient v. outpatient care are now beingmade. Observation medicine is the new thirdpathway which allows a good alternative to pro-tect inpatient populations and yet recognize thattime is the only reliable test of therapy. Not allcare fits into the neat four hour maximum ofstandard emergency department visits.
Hopefully with new opportunities to controloverall costs, we will take this opportunity andseize the day. The real question is, are we going tobe able to move the current system to “buy into” ahealthcare product mode which addresses indi-vidual charges but can concentrate on actualcosts? No economist would confuse these con-cepts. The bulk purchase of service will requirehonesty about what needs to be done for patientsas opposed to what can be charged for whendealing with the government and third partypayers.
Just conclude that if the days of big moneyand “spend at all costs” isn’t over with, it shortlywill be. Observation medicine should be ready tooffer the cost effective alternative. If we can’t dothat than just burn this book and admit everyone.
Lost somewhere in ICD–10 coding, (and whatisn’t lost in ICD–10 coding) is the concept ofmaking life better. Getting patients closer to theirfamilies and friends and out of rooms where themattresses are covered in plastic and the onlypeople who touch you wear gloves and masks.
The new world for providers looks muchdifferent than the old. It is no accident that organ-ized medicine has not asked serious questionsconcerning workforce issues. 75% to 80% of thehealthcare costs in America are workforce. Thereis almost no real research as to who should bedoing just what. This is as true in urban areas asin rural outposts. It is an embarrassment that wedo not have these answers which are needed ifcost control is to be achieved. Even the simplestquestions as to how many facilities do we need perpopulation, hinges on the questions of utilizationand cost. The number of hospital based emer-gency departments in the last 40 years has gone
from 5,700 to slightly less than 4,000. What is thecorrect number of such hospitals which areneeded? What is the number of free standingERs and urgent care centers which are needed?All of these will depend on the blossoming ofobservation medicine. So as you proceed throughthis book, don’t lose the forest in the ventilators.Remember the goals; cost effective care, time effi-cient care, the best patient outcomes, and morecompassionate human centered care. Observationmedicine can achieve these goals.
The purpose of this textbook is to provide aresource for anyone interested in observationmedicine and to be a practical education for“how to” do observation in any setting or loca-tion, even internationally. Currently, there is noone source that you can reference to learn aboutnot just the clinical aspects of observation withinformation including protocols and order sets;but also the administrative, business, fiscal, nurs-ing, case management, utilization review, design,reimbursement, regulatory/governmental, andother facets of observation medicine. Monumen-tal changes are occurring in health care not just inthe United States but throughout the world andobservation medicine can be on the frontlines insolving the complex issues facing healthcare nowand in the future.
This text is intended to be a practicum foranyone interested in setting up or maintaining asuccessful Observation Unit (OU). To quote acolleague and friend, this textbook is “one stopshopping” for observation medicine. Much of theinformation in this textbook is not readily avail-able elsewhere. Some of the Chapters, such as theprotocols and order sets are detailed enough toserve as a “hands on’ manual for observationmedicine. The intent was to provide a concise,useful overview of all aspects of observation medi-cine starting with the clinical and expanding tothe organizational and administrative aspectsfrom set-up and staffing; to the regulatory/gov-ernmental, the business and financial, and reim-bursement. This “real world” information shouldbe applicable to any given practice setting;whether urban, suburban or rural; community-based or academic, in the United States or world-wide. In the 21st century, medicine includingobservation medicine is an art, a science and abusiness. This text is intended to address thesethree topics; while detailing how observation
medicine operating with a patient/family centeredfocus can help provide the highest quality ofpatient care with optimal patient outcomes andbe cost-effective.
I hope that everyone: clinicians, administra-tors, nursing, case managers, reimbursement spe-cialists, utilization review experts, and the manyothers involved in any aspect of observationmedicine; will find this textbook a valuableresource in their clinical practice and daily oper-ations that can provide a useful toolkit for under-standing the many complex issues withobservation medicine and healthcare, and offerinsights into recent developments and the future.
With any endeavor, there are many contribu-tors. I could not have accomplished this textbookwithout the numerous authors and editors, as wellas the individuals at Cambridge University Press.I have had the honor and pleasure of serving asthe Director of the Clinical Decision Unit at theCleveland Clinic since its beginning in 1994, morethan twenty years ago. The CDU is one of theoldest OUs in existence. The 20 bed unit hasaveraged about 6,000 patients a year and has beenin operation with the same director since itsinception. Indeed, we may have the longest con-tinuously in operation OU with the same OUdirector anywhere. I would like to acknowledgethe numerous contributions of my colleagues andcoworkers over these two decades including themany outstanding physicians, the exceptionalnurses and other personal in the OU and theemergency department and the hospital staff/per-sonnel. Thank you for allowing me to work withyou and improve care for our patients. To mystudents, residents and fellows, thank you forallowing me to participate in your education andresearch. May all our patients benefit. Finally,thank you to my family and friends for theirencouragement and love.