Emergency department

The emergency department (including emergency room, emergency room, emergency room, emergency department, emergency or first-aid station ) is a focal point in the hospital for acute care and is part of the Emergency Medicine. Each hospital ( Exception: private clinics, rehabilitation hospitals) has an emergency room, which is usually open around the clock and will be made in the medical assistance.

In the eastern states of Germany instead of " emergency ", the term " emergency room " more widespread in the former West Germany and in Austria, the term " emergency room " (also called " emergency ambulance ", " emergency " or " emergency ") is used more frequently. In Switzerland, the emergency room is called the " emergency stop". Sometimes the clinics of hospitals outside working hours act as emergency rooms.

In an emergency room only emergencies are handled. In general, there is no ordinary outpatient care. Disability certificates will be issued. In hospitals with accident- surgical department, the treatment of work-related accidents (D - doctor process) is often attached to the emergency room geographically, of these for work accidents and disability certificates may be issued.

Patients are treated not necessarily in the order they arrive, but according to urgency. Proper assessment of the patient ( triage ) is therefore a very important measure in the emergency room. These already existing measurement data and information provided by the emergency services personnel, the vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate ) and often additional values ​​such as oxygen saturation or heart rate are measured from each patient or taken into account. The urgency of treatment can then be assessed by flow charts and checklists already assessed by the nursing staff (eg Manchester Triage System).

Some emergency rooms additionally feature a separate ward (in many clinics " receiving station "), and are carried out in the longer-lasting treatments and patients for whom hospitalization is medically necessary, waiting for a free bed.

In each case must be decided after stabilization of a patient by the doctors of the emergency room, whether it is necessary to keep a patient in a hospital inpatient or to dismiss him from the emergency room. If necessary, there is also the possibility of the patient temporarily in a day hospital for further observation accommodate (eg in some cases of hypoglycemia ). If a patient is discharged, often called the hospital staff until a few years ago an ambulance on to make sure bringing this home. Meanwhile trips home will only be paid if there is a medical indication for it. This must be specified by the attending physician on the evidence of transport ( "TN" ).

In emergency rooms are usually doctors from various disciplines (eg, trauma surgeons, internists) solely or jointly in a collegial consultation on the patient ( interdisciplinary emergency room ). In Anglo-American countries, the medical work in emergency rooms ( ER ) was a separate field of study ( "emergency medicine" ).

In addition to the interdisciplinary emergency rooms, where all medical disciplines are treated, there are also specialized emergency rooms, the only trauma surgery (eg: bone fracture) or internal medicine (eg: heart attack ) receive emergency. Therefore, the decision on the choice of a suitable hospital should be left to the rescuer.

Among the special emergency departments today include trauma centers. They are furnished personnel and equipment of the ( emergency room ) to seriously injured. The chances of survival and the success of treatment should be considered in a specialized trauma center over ordinary surgical emergency rooms as significantly higher.

With the so-called stroke units are available in many emergency rooms a more relevant device which is focused on the treatment of stroke patients. Meanwhile Chest Pain units are in use.