Does cross-checking cases with another physician reduce the emergency department adverse event rate?

BEEM Bottom Line

Why is this study important?

The medical community has recognized the risk in patient handovers and the benefit of having standardized approaches to transfers of care. As an examples, the I-PASS program has yielded a dramatic reduction in adverse medical events in large patients populations.[1] [2] [3] The effect of these interventions is, in part, attributable to successive programmatic checks on patients by multiple practitioners. This is a practical approach in ward and inpatient medicine, but the applicability of these interventions to the patient journey in the emergency department (ED) is somewhat nebulous. This study examines the effectiveness of case reviews with ED colleagues on adverse rates.

Which, if any, threats to validity are most likely to have an impact on the results and how?

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