Medical Assessment Units

Increasing demands on acute hospital resources, together with a reduction in the number of available beds, has placed a greater emphasis on the need for rapid and effective assessment of patients in order to determine their need for hospital adsmission. This has led to the widespread emergence of the specialist Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). This timely book provides an up- to-date guide to the assessment and immediate management of patients with acute medical conditions. It presents a structured approach based on common presenting features and focuses on the first twenty four hours of the patient?s stay in hospital. In writing this book, the editors have been able to draw on their own clinical experiences as a charge nurse in Accident and Emergency nursing and a sister in acute cardiology and respectively.

"Medical Assessment Units (MAUs) have been established in 29 hospitals across NSW since 2088. They were developed in conjuction with the Physicians Taskforce and the Acute Care Taskforce to deliver faster, safer, and better care for those patients with complex and chronic conditions, as an alternative to treatment in the Emergency Department."--Executive Summary.

INITIAL MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE MEDICAL PATIENTS INITIAL MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE MEDICAL PATIENTS A GUIDE FOR NURSES AND HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS Second Edition Initial Management of Acute Medical Patients is a clinically focused, practical and contemporary guide for assessing and managing patients with acute medical conditions. Suitable for all nurses and healthcare practitioners working in medical assessment units, medical wards and emergency departments, it presents a structured approach based on common presenting features and focuses on the first 24 hours of the patient’s hospital stay. The book draws on a wide range of supporting evidence and also provides the reader with sources for further reading. KEY FEATURES Written predominantly by nurses for nurses, this text is also suitable for a range of healthcare professionals, including paramedics and nurse practitioners, and anybody working in an acute care environment including primary care assessment units, clinical decision units and intermediate care. Designed as a quick reference text for use in clinical practice. Extensively referenced throughout, thus increasing its appeal to practitioners at all stages of their careers and to those who are undertaking further study. Devotes two entire chapters to assessing and meeting the acute care needs of vulnerable adults (i.e. older adults, those with mental health needs and those with learning disabilities), and discussing best practice in dealing with sudden death. Each chapter offers clear, concise and down-to-earth information based on a common presenting symptom and provides practical advice, supported by best evidence and the most up-to-date clinical guidelines. Fully updated and extensively expanded to include recent guidelines and procedures.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

As the culminating volume in the DCP3 series, volume 9 will provide an overview of DCP3 findings and methods, a summary of messages and substantive lessons to be taken from DCP3, and a further discussion of cross-cutting and synthesizing topics across the first eight volumes. The introductory chapters (1-3) in this volume take as their starting point the elements of the Essential Packages presented in the overview chapters of each volume. First, the chapter on intersectoral policy priorities for health includes fiscal and intersectoral policies and assembles a subset of the population policies and applies strict criteria for a low-income setting in order to propose a "highest-priority" essential package. Second, the chapter on packages of care and delivery platforms for universal health coverage (UHC) includes health sector interventions, primarily clinical and public health services, and uses the same approach to propose a highest priority package of interventions and policies that meet similar criteria, provides cost estimates, and describes a pathway to UHC.