• Users Online: 938
  • Home
  • Print this page
  • Email this page
Home About us Editorial board Search Ahead of print Current issue Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Contacts Login 


 
 Table of Contents  
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2014  |  Volume : 2  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 153-156

Role of emergency physician in an organization in India


Department of Medical, Reliance Industries Ltd, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Date of Web Publication4-Oct-2014

Correspondence Address:
Hitesh N Shah
Department of Medical, Reliance Industries Ltd, Maker Chambers IV, 2nd floor, 222, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021, Maharashtra
India
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2347-9019.142197

Rights and Permissions
  Abstract 

Introduction: Emergency Medicine is still at a nascent stage of recognition in India, there are very few recognized courses coming into being recently for the same. Moreover Emergency Physicians in an organization providing Emergency medical care is even rarer, as the value placed on this specialty is very less by the corporates. It is normally believed that the profile of an Emergency Physician in a corporate is just stuck to handling the emergency, coordinating between all the agencies concerned, and admitting patients to a hospital and then monitoring patients for the same. This being the only function is mostly done by the primary care doctor of the company. Aim: The current article is meant to create awareness for both the corporates and the Emergency Physicians. Results and Conclusion: Moreover the role of the Emergency Physician is a lot more than just that, and the corporates need to understand added value which an Emergency Physician will bring on the table for them like other medical services in the company. This is from the organization point of view. From the point of view of the Emergency Physician, having a exposure to the corporate world is even rare, as the role involves not only handling emergencies but also understanding the business dynamics of the company, developing strategic plans and also understanding the ground operations for the same.

Keywords: Corporates, emergency physician, India, organization


How to cite this article:
Shah HN. Role of emergency physician in an organization in India. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage 2014;2:153-6

How to cite this URL:
Shah HN. Role of emergency physician in an organization in India. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 28];2:153-6. Available from: https://www.ijhsdm.org/text.asp?2014/2/3/153/142197


  Introduction Top


Emergency Medicine is still at a nascent stage of recognition in India, there are very few recognized courses coming into being recently for the same. More so Emergency Physician in an organization providing emergency medical care is even rarer, as the value placed on this specialty is very less by the corporates.

It is normally believed that the profile of an Emergency Physician in a corporate is just stuck to handling the emergency, coordinating between all the agencies concerned, and admitting the patient to a hospital and then monitoring the patient for the same. This being the only function it is mostly done by the primary care doctor of the company. However the role of the Emergency Physician is a lot more than just that and the corporates need to understand the value addition which an Emergency Physician will bring on the table for them like the other medical services in the company. This is from the organization point of view.

From the point of view of the Emergency Physician, having a exposure to the corporate world is even rare, as the role involves not only handling emergencies but also understanding the business dynamics of the company, developing strategic plans and also understanding the ground operations for the same.

The current article is meant to create awareness for both the corporates and the Emergency Physicians.

Role and Responsibilities of the Emergency Physician in an organization in India are;

Strategic Inputs;


  • In an organization which is huge and spread across the country and overseas, The emergency medical services should have a Company Incident Command Center (CICC), which in turn is open 24/7, and is the liaison point for all the employees, to call and then the command center will coordinate between the various agencies involved in solving the case. This type of a set-up is a more organized structure compared to a hit and run of calling one doctor or the other and then he manages the show further. The process should be system driven Not Individual driven
  • To standardize the emergency management systems across all sites and offices which in turn will ensure good quality control and unanimity of services to all employees?


Department Management

  • Promotes and participates in a collaborative, interdisciplinary Emergency Department (ED) leadership team
  • Collaborates with the leadership and ED leadership team to ensure that departmental performance meets or exceeds standards described in medical staff rules and regulations, the bylaws, departmental policies, and in other appropriate local and national standards
  • Works with ED leadership team to ensure that the department meets or exceeds its defined objectives for improvement, growth, and expansion of services
  • Cooperates with Company administration and leadership to develop a team of personnel managers for the emergency department (clerical, nursing, and others)
  • Teaching them by precept and example to manage
  • In conjunction with the ED leadership team, helps build enthusiasm, stability, teamwork, and competence among employees through supervision, individualized evaluation and counselling, training and praise for a job well done
  • Ensures departmental policies are known, understood and implemented by the Company physicians
  • Monitors correctness and appropriateness of the emergency records; implements corrective intervention as required in association with medical records and quality assurance mechanisms
  • Participates in personnel, purchasing, and procedural changes in the ED, in cooperation with appropriate personnel and Company managers
  • He is available for counselling, advice, information and general support to the Physicians and other department members
  • Together with leadership, ensures adequacy of Emergency Management Systems (EMS) communications
  • Maintains a department office and is accessible during usual business hours For routine department business
  • Schedules regular departmental meetings and decides on the final agenda and special guests
  • Encourages open forums for departmental communications and problem solving by all ED personnel.


Education and Training

  • Requires participation and initiation of in service continuing education of Company Physicians, and clerical personnel
  • Encourages the involvement of all physician staff to participate in EMS/paramedic training and education
  • Establishes and encourages participation in emergency medicine grand Discussions For physicians
  • Encourages the involvement in on-going focused education courses by the ED staff, as appropriate to that facility
  • Encourages an outreach program to the community and industry on topics of Interest in the area of emergency medicine, and promotes the Company's medical capabilities.


Liaison

  • The Emergency Physician shall ensure that the emergency department has effective communications with the following individuals and groups:
  • Patients and their families
  • Administration
  • Nursing leadership and clerical supervisors.
  • Hospital department heads
  • Medical staff
  • Health, Safety, Security, Enviroment (HSSE)
  • Security.


Liaison with the medical staff should include the following aspects:

  1. Physician interface
  2. Promotion of emergency services provided
  3. Review of complaints and amicable resolution
  4. Encouraging use of new services in the ED
  5. Openness to suggestions from medical staff
  6. Timeliness of medical staff response to consultation.


Laboratory and radiology department for follow-up and evaluation of tests initiated in the ED

  • Industry
  • Civic groups
  • City/county government in cooperation with hospital administration
  • Paramedic and EMS system
  • Religious leader
  • Community social services
  • Hospital patient representatives
  • Security department
  • Legal community
  • Law enforcement agencies
  • Poison control
  • Managed Care Organizations and other third party payers.


Public Relations

  • Identifies the unique and important role of emergency services in the health care of the Employees as it pertains to emergency services and programs
  • Works with the public relations department to provide an appropriate media spokesperson for emergency care related questions or events
  • Is available to press, radio, TV, and industry, for clarification of events or to amplify items of interest to the community in relation to emergency medicine.


Recruitment-Orientation

  • Establishes an active process for identifying and recruiting emergency team members
  • Reviews and verifies credentials, training, and education of physicians, and mid-level staff in cooperation with the appropriate organizational credentialing office
  • Designs a formal orientation process for new department members
  • Conducts a final interview for doctors leaving the department.


Committees - Company/Department

  • Serves on medical staff executive committee
  • Assures ED representation on all appropriate committees
  • Ideally, on Disaster Committee and Emergency Services Committee
  • Encourages participation of emergency staff on committees
  • Critical Care
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Disaster
  • Medical Audit/Utilization Review
  • Quality Assurance
  • Medical Records
  • Creates subcommittees among the emergency staff to undertake and report on specific areas requiring departmental attention and subsequent action. Creates task forces with appropriate membership to take action in specific areas requiring departmental attention.


Quality Assurance

  • In collaboration with the Company risk management department, establishes, implements, and maintains the ED Quality Assurance/Risk Management program
  • Identifies departmental recruitment problems and develops appropriate remedial policies and procedures
  • Provides written documentation of problems reviewed and subsequent action taken for inclusion in the annual emergency department report
  • Assists ED Leadership Team to prepare the department for site visits and surveys by appropriate licensing/accrediting agencies
  • Collaborates with the ED Leadership Team to ensure rules governing the function of the ED are followed: e.g. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards, state department of health regulations, medical staff bylaws, ED policies and procedures, fire codes, pharmacy board, regulations, and insurance company rules
  • Monitors and reviews standing orders in the ED
  • Follows the Company specific reporting structure for all quality assurance activities.


Peer Reviews

  • Establishes an effective system for on-going monitoring of physician/physician extender performance and remedial action for problem areas
  • Completes various written reports as required from time to time by the Company, including initial, final, and yearly evaluations of all emergency Staff
  • Collaborates with the appropriate agencies to ensure emergency physician compliance with licensure and continuing medical education credit requirements
  • Evaluates emergency physician competence in procedures for which they have privileges
  • Provides timely audit of charts for completeness and content
  • Reviews any adverse case outcomes or malpractice claims
  • Interacts with ED nursing and clerical staff in areas of patient care and education
  • Collaborates with appropriate agencies to ensure intervention and referral of cases such as sexual assault, child or elder abuse, and psychiatric crises
  • Collaborates with appropriate staff to ensure public health department case reporting
  • Advocates due process for complaint resolution and other issues relating to the ED medical staff.


Planning

  • Participates in long-range planning for facility design or modification, equipment acquisition and new services in the company
  • Proactively addresses issues which may impair access to emergency care, that is, for prior approval of emergency care, etc
  • Monitors advances in emergency care and initiates change as needed to ensure that ED services and capabilities are dynamic and progressive
  • Employs A prudent stewardship when planning changes in the delivery of emergency services.


Legal Considerations

  • Acts as an interface between Company legal representative and risk management personnel concerning emergency department legal issues
  • Educates the physicians in proper documentation of charts and proper patient-physician interface
    1. document patient's complaint or lack of complaint
    2. document all findings - positive and pertinent negative
    3. document recommendations in chart and written instructions sent home with patient
  • Acquires an understanding of the laws pertaining to emergency medicine
  • Cooperates with the Company management and leadership to ensure departmental policies and procedures exist for dealing with legal issues in clinical care, e.g. crime, STD, coroner's cases, alcohol and substance abuse, minors, and child abuse.


Event Management

  • The Emergency Physician plays a very crucial role in the planning of important events of the company like huge get together, sports event, VVIP addressing the employees in person etc.



  Conclusion Top


The Emergency physician plays a much wider role in an organization in India compared to what has been the norm so far and he can play a crucial role in maintaining the strata of the company in conjunction with the other departments like HSSE, administration etc., More So in India where the level of emergency care is very poor, the corporates can play a pivotal role in the development of emergency services.

He can be utilized by the company in various manners as described which in turn will help the company improving their Top line and Bottom line.[12]

 
  References Top

1.A very warm welcome to the website of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine [Last retrieved 2011 Mar 18].  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2."Emergency Medicine". Available from: www.Emermed.uc.edu [Last retrieved 2012 Oct 28].  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.Department of Emergency Medicine. "Department of Emergency Medicine". Available from: www.Keck.usc.edu [Last retrieved 2012 Oct 28].  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.Maurice Ellis Award. Available from: http://www.collemergencymed.ac.uk/temp/1026-cec_maurice_ellis_info.pdf.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.BAEM-Emergency Medicine Landmarks. Available from: http://www.collemergencymed.ac.uk/CEM/History.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.Emergency Medicine Journal. Available from: http://emj.bmj.com/.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7."About ACEP". ACEP. [Last retrieved 2009 Aug 26].  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.ACEP Membership "ACEP Membership". ACEP. [Last retrieved 2009 Aug 26].  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9."ACOEP (American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians): About". [Last retrieved date on 2008 May 08].  Back to cited text no. 9
    
10.Available from: www."AEP.org" [Last retrieved date on 2008 May 08].  Back to cited text no. 10
    
11."About TATD". TATD. [Last retrieved date on 2011 May 29].  Back to cited text no. 11
    
12."What is Emergency Medicine?". Yale School of Medicine. [Last retrieved 2011 Mar 18].  Back to cited text no. 12
    




 

Top
 
 
  Search
 
Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
 Related articles
Access Statistics
Email Alert *
Add to My List *
* Registration required (free)

 
  In this article
Abstract
Introduction
Conclusion
References

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed4283    
    Printed255    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded266    
    Comments [Add]    

Recommend this journal


[TAG2]
[TAG3]
[TAG4]