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Expired CO2 Measurement in Intubated or Spontaneously Breathing Patients from the Emergency Department
Published on: January 29, 2011
The concept of reliability in emergency medicine
1Department of Emergency Medicine, LDS Hospital, 8th Avenue and C Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84143, USA. sjwelch@networld.com
Abstract:
Despite the fact that the United States boasts one of the most advanced health care systems in the world, this system is highly "unreliable" and fraught with error. This article is an introduction to the concept of "reliability" in emergency medicine. It suggests ways in which the health care system could promote increased reliability of operations and processes in the emergency department by using reliability principles and tools that have proven successful in other high-risk settings. Through comparisons to aviation and nuclear power, this article illustrates the differences in culture between emergency medicine and other high-risk organizations and points to the qualities that promote reliability. Finally, a specific model for reliability in the emergency department, operations, and clinical processes is proposed.
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