What influences ambulance clinician decisions to pre-alert Emergency Departments: a qualitative exploration of decision-making in three UK Ambulance Services

2023-12-15 emergency medicine Title + abstract only

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BackgroundAmbulance clinicians use pre-alerts to inform receiving hospitals of the imminent arrival of a time-critical patient considered to require immediate attention, enabling the receiving Emergency Department or other clinical area to prepare. Pre-alerts are key to ensuring immediate access to appropriate care, but unnecessary pre-alerts can divert resources from other patients and fuel pre-alert fatigue amongst ED staff. This research aims to provide a better understanding of pre-alert de...