Emergency Medicine is a dynamic field. The medical literature and FOAM (Free Open Access Meducation) are replete with examples of and advice on how processes in Emergency Medicine can be improved, streamlined, or replaced with better processes. Doing so benefits our patients as well as the personnel working in the emergency department.
Yet implementing new processes is not easy. When implementing a new process, we need to consider:
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the risks/benefits for the patient
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how the process affects the workload of all personnel in the emergency department
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how the process affects our colleagues working outside of the emergency department
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whether additional training of personnel is required, and if so, how the training takes place and how competence is confirmed
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how the process is approved for implementation
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how implementation of the process is evaluated
Successful process implementation is hence contingent upon:
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knowledge regarding the process: what it consists of, risks and benefits for all affected
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development of an implementation strategy and material taking into consideration local political and psychological factors
We believe that:
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implementing new processes locally benefits from learning from the experience of others who have implemented the process in their own emergency department, and from obtaining implementation material that has already been tried and tested
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many members of the Emergency Medicine community are ready to share their experience and material in the altruistic spirit of FOAM
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multicenter process implementation stimulates the development of multicenter research networks and multicenter research projects
