October - 20218In My OpinionFor the past year, media has been awash with articles about the difficulty of working in the Emergency Department. Although Covid-19 is the predominant factor effecting the delivery of emergency care, the technological advances in the last few years have been enormously helpful in ensuring providers deliver high quality patient care. Most of these advances allow for easier diagnosis, or easier access to highly advanced technology. This technology can break down barriers to care for patients, not just in the United States, but as well as the rest of the world. Digital StethoscopesWith the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an obvious concern with healthcare providers being exposed to infected patients and how to mitigate the risk. This is in conflict with the reality that much of the expertise of the Emergency Physician comes from the physical exam of the patient. One of the most ingenious ways to ensure the physical exam can be completed, but the risk is minimized, is with devices such as digital stethoscopes. Placing the device against the patient, but being able to be a safe distance away is a novel approach to using technology as well as ensure the collection of the necessary information. As with most advances, it also allows for collaboration as the data is electronic and can be shared on appropriate platforms with consultants to ensure complete information transmission. TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES TO IMPROVE EMERGENCY MEDICINEKenneth Perry, Medical Director, TeamHealthByHandheld UltrasoundUltrasound has been used since the 1950's, mostly for looking at fetuses within the uterus. Now ultrasound can be used to find blood clots in veins, or even detached retinas. It is also very helpful in determining if extremely sick patients need blood transfusions, or even emergent surgery. Emergency Physicians now have the ability to connect the ultrasound probe to a smart phone. Although helpful in the United States, this has been immensely helpful in resource poor countries throughout the world. Given the price point of most of these devices are low enough to allow individuals to purchase the device it allows for individual providers to have access to the information that an ultrasound can provide. This means that even patients in resource poor environments can have the emergency cardiac ultrasounds, or gallbladder ultrasounds to better diagnose emergencies that previously were not accessible to them.
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