Qualitätskriterien und strukturelle Voraussetzungen für Cardiac Arrest Zentren – Update 2021

[The center for intensive care medicine: a model for interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration]

BACKGROUND

The Federal Joint Committee has established requirements for centers for intensive care medicine which, in cooperation with other clinics, are to take on special tasks for intensive care medicine in a region. High demands are placed on these centers, which it may not be possible to meet without restructuring the existing intensive care structures.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, an organizational model for a center for intensive care medicine based on broad interdisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation is presented for discussion.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The organizational model contains proposals for integration of the centers for intensive care medicine into the clinic structure, the management team, the staff composition, the areas of clinical activity, and the further tasks of research, teaching, and education and training.

CONCLUSION

Establishment of the centers for intensive care medicine provides new and forward-looking impetus for the further development of intensive care medicine in Germany. However, for the new organizational model to be implemented effectively, the necessary restructuring measures must be adequately refinanced and supported by hospital management and medical faculties. In addition, a sustained willingness for interdisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation is required on the part of all those involved, and employees in this model must be offered attractive long-term positions in intensive care medicine.

[Initial preclinical assessment on-site]

Emergency personnel assess their patients as an essential part of their daily work in emergency settings. The clinical assessment can help differentiate between immediately life-threatening conditions and milder diseases in patients. This assessment is the basis for an adequate preclinical treatment and for a rational referral to the hospital providing further care. Carried out in a thoughtful manner it allows reasonable allocation of resources for inpatient care.Well-founded training, clinical experience, scores, and tools in the form of acronyms for assessing the patient lead to successful assessments according to quality standards.The preclinical initial assessment is crucial for ensuring appropriate care for patients on site with life-threatening conditions as well as those with minor problems. Prioritization of a treatment depends on the severity of the condition or injury.