Question

Mrs. Fox, a 40-year-old wife and mother of 2, was involved in a massive motor vehicle accident on the Sawmill Parkway in which her car struck the center divider and flipped twice. A good Samaritan immediately dialed 911. First responders found the patient unconscious with severe injuries but were able to safely transport her to Westchester Medical Center. Upon arrival at the emergency department, Mrs. Fox was immediately triaged and the following impairments were found: blunt force trauma to the head, open fracture to the right leg, possible closed fracture to the right wrist/forearm, and internal bleeding to the upper right abdominal quadrant (possibly from the liver). Hospital staff was able to contact the patient's next of kin (family) to inform them of her condition. Mrs. Fox was stabilized, imaging and tests were ordered/performed, and medically necessary surgical intervention was carried out. The patient was transferred to the ICU of the hospital as she continued to fluctuate in and out of consciousness and had difficulty breathing without the use of a respirator. Within a week, the patient fully regained consciousness, was able to breathe on her own, and was determined to be safe enough to be transferred to the general inpatient floor of the hospital. It was determined that Mrs. Fox had sustained a traumatic brain injury predominately affecting sensation and motor function to the right side of her body. She was placed on a restrictive diet and prescribed medication to treat her healing liver as well as diuretics to decrease the fluid compressing her brain. A pin was placed in the patient's right wrist to fixate the fractured scaphoid bone. The right tibia was fixated with an intramedullary rod and pins. Neurovascular structures were repaired to the best of the surgeon's ability; however, the prognosis of her right leg was undetermined based on the severity of damage. Based on the case scenario above, answer the following questions: 1. List all the acute care providers who may be involved in Mrs. Fox's care? 2. What would be the role of each provider? 3. Why might providers need to communicate with one and other specific to this case? 4. How might they communicate? 5. What other healthcare team members might be involved and what would be their roles?

Answer 1

1. Blunt force trauma to the head involves special area with neurologist and neurosurgeon. open fracture to the right leg and closed fracture to the right wrist involve ortho surgeon to deal with it, internal bleeding to the right upper abdomen quadrant involves gastro surgeon and gastroenterologist to reveal medical and surgical conclusion. primary care physicians deal with overall care.
2, Neurologists examine patients' present mental and physical status.
Neurosurgeon involves brain and spine related problems and surgical intervention.
Ortho surgeon perform surgery for the patient to correct their fracture
Gastroenterologist examines the abdomen and finds out the cause and level of internal injury that caused bleeding.
primary care physician takes a patient history and do a physical examination and prescribe medication.
3, Care coordination needs effective communication between providers for patient referrals and consultation. providers good communication skills improve patient compliance and improve patient overall health outcomes. this sharing pertinent information help for accurate diagnosis and treatment plans.
4, providers communicate with other providers over phone, email and referral letters by viewing EHR. advanced technology helps providers to interact with each other.