EMA Journal February 2015

Issue 1 (Vol. 27) of EMA Journal for 2015 was published online on 27th January. Editorial overview by Andrew Gosbell & Geoff HughesA Beginners Guide to Medical Social Media and FOAM  (#FOAMed)All you need to know to access online medical education resources and get started with social media is explained by Weingart and Thoma in this video using the conceptual framework of a hierarchy of needs. Predicting the numbers – ED presentations time-series analysis (Abstract)Accurate forecasting of the magnitude of future health services demand, particularly for EDs where overcrowding is indicative of an inability to cope with current demands, is critical for developing strategies aimed at improving access to safe and quality care especially in the context of constrained funding. Mai and colleagues report a population-based time series analysis of monthly Western Australian (WA) ED presentation data over a 7-year period, using models that enabled prediction of yearly ED presentation numbers over the next 5 years, stratified by location, patient age, triage and disposition. This analysis forecasts ED presentations in WA will increase 26.3% by 2017/18, exceeding population growth. Most of this growth is predicted to occur in metropolitan WA, in older patients and/or with complex care needs. Although based on WA data, the findings can be generalised, suggesting the need for an integrated system-wide approach for health service strategic planning an...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Clinical Research EMA Journal LITFL Source Type: blogs