ER Group

Clinical Governance

Strategic Investments:

  1. Appointment of Prof E.B. Kramer to position of independent clinical consultant. Effective 1 November 2009. Prof Kramer is the Head of Department: Emergency Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand.
  2. Establish the ER Training and Development Centre. Effective immediately. A dedicated centre at ER Consulting Inc Head Office, capable of hosting 50 people.
  3. Appointment of Dr Peter Anderson to Senior Lecturer and Part-time Consultant to the Division of Emergency Medicine, University of the Witwatersand. Effective 1 October 2008.
  4. Appointment of Dr Peter Anderson to Head of the Trauma Unit at C.H Baragwanath Hospital under Prof E Degiannis. Effective 1 December 2009. Intended to promote Private / Public Relations and establish a footprint in the academic world for the business.
  5. EMSSA Conference, to be held in Cape Town, 24–27 November 2009. ER Consulting Inc has taken a double stand and will further be accommodating all our Heads of Unit at the event.


ER Consulting is responsible for the Emergency Unit management at 12 units around South Africa. The model that is employed is based on each unit functioning under a Clinical Head of Unit. This position is undertaken by a permanent ER Consulting Inc doctor. The units are reviewed through regular direct visits by Dr Peter Anderson and/or other ER Consulting Inc shareholders, together with Head Office functions that bring our Clinical Heads of Unit under one roof for strategic and operational planning.

Clinical Proficiency Score:

ER Consulting Inc has developed a comprehensive scorecard that serves to credential our doctors as well as form the benchmark of a portfolio that can ensure CPD compliance. This score takes into account the following parameters:

  1. Experience, both clinical and non clinical.
  2. Academic involvement.
  3. Academic qualifications.
  4. Procedural experience and skills.
  5. Personal appraisal.


The intention is for the scorecard to be repeated, at least annually, with demonstration of active improvement on the doctor’s side.


Academic Financial Provision:

ER Consulting Inc is proud to offer a provision of R5 000.00 and 3 days per year, for each of our permanent doctors. The detail of this subsidy will be as follows:

  1. The reimbursement is made based on successful completion of the course.
  2. ER Consulting Inc will NOT be paying for any course outside of the ALS curriculum unless the doctor has completed all of these courses, and is current. Further, only emergency medicine appropriate courses will be sponsored.
  3. Application for special funding in lieu of the DIPPEC and or MSc, MPhil in Emergency Medicine, will be addressed on an individual basis.


Mortality and Morbidity Meetings:

Each Emergency Unit needs to have such a meeting every month. This would mean a total of twelve for the year. These meetings are accredited for CPD points with individual accreditation numbers through the Wits CPD Office.


Clinical Meetings:

Each Emergency Unit needs to have such a meeting every second month. This would mean a total of six for the year. The topics for these meetings are available on electronic link and are based on the curriculum that is being followed by the Masters students in Emergency Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand.


Clinical Audit:

It is our vision that ER Consulting Inc establishes a mantra of clinical excellence. An audit is a process by which we review our current clinical practice. Each ER Consulting Inc unit needs to have completed at least two clinical audits per year.


Good Practice Audit:

This entails the following detail and is done bi-annually on all permanent doctors and a selected locum pool based on frequency of work. The assessed parameters include:

  1. Appropriate note keeping.
  2. Billing of correct codes and relevant procedures.
  3. Quality of care as determined by the medical records.
  4. Complaints generated.


ER Consulting Inc Clinical Protocol File:

This takes the format of a clinical reference manual that includes the latest detail on current topics in emergency medicine, together with an abridged document, titled the “Rules of Engagement”.

This document is endorsed by the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand.


MELISA:

The Medical Electronic Library of South Africa has been decided as ER Consulting Inc’s preferred online subscription. This facility will be available to our Heads of Unit.


Clinical Catalogue:

A compilation of recent presentations is available in CD format for each of our emergency units. The topics are presented by current emergency medicine registrars and Masters students. The responsibility of this catalogue is for the Head of Unit.


Academic Notice Board:

Each ER Consulting Inc unit has an Academic Board. This is the responsibility of the Head of Unit and is done in conjunction with the respective unit manager. The purpose of this board is for visual display of the Journal for the clinical meeting, together with all academic content for the month.