Accident and Emergency Process: A Comprehensive Guide
The A&E Streaming Process
The following narration is the result of an interview with an Accident and Emergency (A&E) nurse. For the purposes of illustrating the process, a scenario involving a person presenting to A&E with a wound to their limb was chosen. The A&E streaming guidelines provide medical practitioners and nurses with a 'roadmap' for streaming patients through the A&E based on their diagnosis.
Registration and Assessment
When a person arrives at the A&E reception, they are asked to describe their injury and the circumstances of the injury. In this case, the injury is a cut to the arm. The nurse also requests the name, address, and date of birth of the patient so their patient record can be retrieved. If the patient is a new patient, the health insurance number is requested and added to the patient record. A new case record is created with a unique case number, patient name, and date of birth.
X-Ray and Treatment
After answering a checklist of questions, the patient is asked to go to the x-ray treatment room. The nurse provides this recommendation based on consulting the A&E streaming guidelines. The medical practitioner reviews the patient record to understand pre-existing conditions and the description of the injury provided at reception. The patient is x-rayed, and the medical practitioner uploads the x-ray and procedure details to the patient record and then updates the case record with the medical practitioner's name and details of any bone trauma caused by the limb. If the trauma is minimal, the patient is asked to proceed to the treatment room for suturing after consulting the A&E streaming guidelines.
Treatment and Discharge
The medical practitioner reviews the patient record and case details. The patient is given a local anaesthetic injection, and the wound is sutured. The medical practitioner uploads procedure details to the patient record and updates the case record with the medical practitioner's name and details of the procedure. After thirty minutes of recovery on a hospital gurney, the patient is discharged after consulting the A&E streaming guidelines. Postoperative care is advised.
Invoices and Reconciliation
Each week, a hospital administrator reviews the procedure details from each case and creates two invoices. One invoice is sent to the patient and the other to the Health Insurance Company. When payments are received, the remittance advices, invoices, and the bank statement are reconciled on a monthly basis.
What are the key steps involved in the Accident and Emergency process as described by the A&E nurse? The key steps in the Accident and Emergency process include patient registration, assessment, x-ray, treatment, and discharge. A case record is created with patient details, x-ray is performed, findings are updated, and if necessary, suturing is done. After recovery, the patient is discharged with post-operative care instructions. Invoices are created and sent to the patient and the insurance company for payment reconciliation. This process ensures efficient and systematic management of A&E cases while providing appropriate care to patients and facilitating billing procedures.