Best Practices Help Staff Survive in the ER.

EMERGENCY medical services; MEDICAL emergencies; PERFORMANCE standards; HOSPITALS; PATIENT-professional relations; PATIENT satisfaction

The article focuses on the emergency departments (ED) in hospitals. In a recently conducted survey ED received lowest scores in terms of patient satisfaction. ED must follow a simple progression in order to achieve higher patient satisfaction scores, in terms of speed and efficiency. Such items are described as "process" issues those relating most to operations rather than human interaction. If these process issues are not adequately addressed, the ED most important assets--its employees will not even have the opportunity to perform to their full potential.