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Matt Zavadsky, MS

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NURSES’ ABILITY TO CORRECTLY SELECT ABDOMINAL PAIN AS THE APPROPRIATE PROTOCOL IN TELEPHONIC NURSE TRIAGE SYSTEM

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Christopher Olola, PhD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Gigi Marshall, MSN, Elaine Messerli, BSN, RN

Aug 04, 2021|Research Posters

The primary objective of this study was to determine the ability of an Emergency Communication Nurse (ECN) to appropriately identify the Abdominal Pain Chief Complaint Protocol to use to triage patients in low-acuity cases. The secondary objectives were to establish the most frequently used primary triage code (Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) Determinant Codes), triggering the use of the Abdominal Pain Chief Complaint Protocol in the Emergency Communication Nurse System™ (ECNS™), as well as the percentage of these calls resulting in a Recommended Care Level (RCL) of “emergency a

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Emergency Communication Nurses' Ability to Correctly Select Abdominal Pain as the Appropriate Protocol in Telephonic Nurse Triage System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Christopher Olola, PhD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Gigi Marshall, MSN, Elaine Messerli, BSN, RN

Oct 01, 2020|AEDR 2020 Vol. 8 Issue 2|Original Research

Abdominal pain is the most common symptom with which patients present to the emergency department (ED), and overall visits to EDs in the U.S. are growing twice as fast as the overall population. Interventions that can safely mitigate such a high usage of ED resources would be a great asset in the delivery of effective and efficient ED care. One such intervention is a secondary triage of patients calling 911 for an ambulance who were subsequently triaged as a non-urgent low-acuity caller. Emergency medical services (EMS) using secondary...

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Characterization of Call Prioritization Time in a Medical Priority Dispatch System

Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Christopher Olola, PhD, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Adam Johnson, Bryon Schultz, BA, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Donald Robinson, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Lis Burnette, Tracey Barron, BS, Brett Patterson

Mar 07, 2016|AEDR 2016 Vol. 4 Issue 1|Original Research

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies have a pressing need to understand call prioritization time (CPT), a key sub-component of call processing time in Emergency Medical Dispatch, as it impacts response time to specific cases and overall EMS agency response time performance. The objective of this study was to determine median CPT by dispatch priority level and Chief Complaint type. This retrospective study included data from six emergency communication agencies, each accredited by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED)...

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Assessing Call Demand and Utilization of a Secondary Triage Emergency Communication Nurse System for Low Acuity Calls Transferred from an Emergency Dispatch System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 01, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 2|Original Research

Telephone nurse triage at the 9-1-1 dispatch point is relatively new in the United States despite its ability to significantly reduce expensive and scarce Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resource use and emergency department visits. A previous study investigated the distribution of 9-1-1-triaged call incident types within the Emergency Communications Nurse System (ECNS) and found that 9-1-1 triage systems yielded a variety of low acuity complaints that were handled by the Emergency Communications Nurse (ECN). This study explored the current and potential utilization...

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The Distribution of Recommended Care Level Classification by Time of Day within the Emergency Communication Nurse System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 01, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 2|Original Research

Research has shown that two-thirds of emergency visits occur after business hours (weekdays 9am – 5pm). Therefore, identifying primary healthcare providers available after business hours is one strategy for improving appropriate access to healthcare services. Previous studies have also shown a high and steady volume of secondary triage-eligible calls throughout the day and into the evening. However, because the Emergency Communication Nurse (ECN) performing the secondary triage has some discretion on selecting the Recommended Care Level (RCL) based on resource...

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911 Emergency Communication Nurse Triage Reduces EMS Patient Costs and Directs Patients to High-Satisfaction Alternative Point of Care

Isabel Gardett, PhD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Kristen Miller, JD, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Comilla Sasson, MD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Mark Rector, Andrew Wilcox, Christopher Olola, PhD

Mar 22, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 1|Original Research

Recent estimates indicate that more than half of all Emergency Department (ED) visits could be avoided, reducing patient costs and increasing satisfaction with care. Since 911 is increasingly the first point of contact for many patients entering the health care system—even those with non-emergency conditions—one potential approach to decreasing emergency costs and ED overcrowding is to reinvent the 911 dispatch center as a clearinghouse for directing patients to alternative care providers. This study presents a cost avoidance analysis of two 911 dispatch centers that...

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The Distribution of Recommended Care Levels by Age, Gender, and Trauma vs Medical Classification within the Emergency Communication Nurse System

Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Jennie McQueen, RN, Tracey Barron, BS, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Isabel Gardett, PhD, Brett Patterson, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Christopher Olola, PhD

Mar 22, 2015|AEDR 2015 Vol. 3 Issue 1|Original Research

An examination of the Emergency Communications Nurse-determined Recommended Care Levels (RCLs), for calls transferred for secondary nurse-triage has not been performed. The outcome of such an investigation would help to gain a more complete picture of the type of care ultimately recommended for these patients. The Emergency Communications Nurse System (ECNS) studied contained 22 RCLs, ranging from urgent levels, including a country-specific 3-digit number Emergency response (911), and Emergency care as soon as possible to less time-dependent, low priority levels, such...

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The Distribution of 911 Triaged Call Incident Types within the Emergency Communication Nurse System™

Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Jennie McQueen, RN, Mark Conrad Fivaz, MD, Isabel Gardett, PhD, Matt Zavadsky, MS, Neal Richmond, MD, FACEP, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 07, 2014|AEDR 2014 Vol. 2 Issue 2|Original Research

This study examined the distribution of the MPDS® Chief Complaint protocols and determinant codes assigned by the EMD as eligible for nurse triage, as well as the distribution of the Chief Complaint protocols contained in the Emergency Communications Nurse System™ (ECNS™) secondary nurse triage process, as determined by the emergency communications nurse (ECN). Protocol distribution was also examined by patient gender. This study characterized protocol and gender distributions to provide a better understanding of the types of patients and their associated...

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