Evaluation of a Novel Clinical Assistant Model of Care on Patient Flow and Emergency Department Length of Stay.

Objective: To measure the contribution of clinical assistants (CAs) to departmental flow and length of stay.

Methods: An observational study comparing key performance indicators (KPIs) between shifts with and without assistants.

Results: A total of 122 shifts were included from 1 November to 31 December 2021.

The impact of Victorian COVID-19 lockdowns on the presentation and management of acute appendicitis.

Backgrounds: The COVID-19 pandemic presents ongoing challenges for healthcare. Stay at Home orders ('lockdowns') and community fears have been suggested to create reluctance to seek healthcare. We aimed to determine whether the rates of perforated appendicitis and negative appendicectomy have been affected by the pandemic, and to analyse the effect of lockdowns on the management of acute appendicitis in Victoria.

Rehabilitation outcomes of survivors of cardiac arrest admitted to ICUs in Australia and New Zealand (ROSC ANZ): A data linkage study.

Introduction: Rehabilitation outcomes in cardiac arrest survivors are largely unknown, with no data comparing out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCA). This study aimed to describe and compare inpatient rehabilitation outcomes in these patients who were admitted from intensive care units (ICU).

Methods: A retrospective linkage and analysis of cardiac arrest patients in the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database and the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre inpatient dataset discharged to inpatient rehabilitation between January 2017 and June 2018.

Description of the effect of patient flow, junior doctor supervision and pandemic preparation on the ability of emergency physicians to provide direct patient care.

Objective A pilot study to: (1) describe the ability of emergency physicians to provide primary consults at an Australian, major metropolitan, adult emergency department (ED) during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with historical performance; and (2) to identify the effect of system and process factors on productivity. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional description of shifts worked between 1 and 29 February 2020, while physicians were carrying out their usual supervision, flow and problem-solving duties, as well as undertaking additional COVID-19 preparation, was documented. Effect of supervisory load, years of Australian registration and departmental flow factors were evaluated.