Initial Emergency Care has been developed to improve the initial care of patients presenting to emergency and primary care providers in resource-limited settings. It is intended that the health care worker will gain the skills to administer first aid, and to be able to perform an initial assessment and treatment of life-threatening or limb-threatening conditions prior to referral to definitive care at the same or a different medical facility. Local solutions to the problem of stabilization and safe transfer of a patient requiring further care will be explored.
When the number of patients presenting to care overwhelms a medical facility, it may be difficult to prioritize which patients are in most urgent need of care. To this end, IEC will introduce the concept of triage so that the most urgent cases are seen within a reasonable time.
IEC was developed because it is common for patients to present to a remote medical facility prior to referral to definitive care. The condition of these patients may deteriorate significantly in the time it takes to reach a larger hospital for advanced care (such as surgery or other procedures). The remote or rural medical facility may not have the equipment, medication or personnel available to apply advanced care, so there is a limitation to what can be provided for such patients. However, many treatments are simple and require minimal equipment. IEC will give the remote health care providers information and enable them to use what is available to reduce morbidity and mortality in such patients.
The rural or remote health care provider needs to recognize a deteriorating patient and be able to communicate with the receiving hospital in such a way as to enable safe transfer in a timely manner.
The Initial Emergency Care Reference Text presents concise, point form management plans. The material is produced for resource rich environments, and hence includes investigation, treatment and disposition options that will not be universally available.
When the number of patients presenting to care overwhelms a medical facility, it may be difficult to prioritize which patients are in most urgent need of care. To this end, IEC will introduce the concept of triage so that the most urgent cases are seen within a reasonable time.
IEC was developed because it is common for patients to present to a remote medical facility prior to referral to definitive care. The condition of these patients may deteriorate significantly in the time it takes to reach a larger hospital for advanced care (such as surgery or other procedures). The remote or rural medical facility may not have the equipment, medication or personnel available to apply advanced care, so there is a limitation to what can be provided for such patients. However, many treatments are simple and require minimal equipment. IEC will give the remote health care providers information and enable them to use what is available to reduce morbidity and mortality in such patients.
The rural or remote health care provider needs to recognize a deteriorating patient and be able to communicate with the receiving hospital in such a way as to enable safe transfer in a timely manner.
The Initial Emergency Care Reference Text presents concise, point form management plans. The material is produced for resource rich environments, and hence includes investigation, treatment and disposition options that will not be universally available.
