IS SPLINTING “STABILIZATION”?
Some ED’s cast simple fractures, while others tend to only splint and send the patient to the orthopod later for casting. CMS has cited both practices. It is HOW its done, more than WHAT the approach is. POINT #4 –If the fracture is cast or splinted but should have been seen by an orthopod, the the ED Physician and Hospital may be cited for failing to call in available specialists. This is less prevalent in the over-all scheme of citations, but it does happen. The more common citation is for sending the patient out splinted when CMS determines that definitive care should have been rendered in the hospital. Typically, this involves our SCENARIO refusal when the patient presents at the orthopod’s office. The definition of “stable for discharge” is that the patient’s emergency condition has been “resolved”. The general definition for “stable” revolves around whether there is a likelyhood that the condition might deteriorate from or during discharge or movement. You will recall that disch
