SCCM is performing maintenance on its websites. For the best browsing experience, please use Microsoft Edge or Safari. Those using Chrome or Firefox may experience access issues at this time.

Tag: Critical Connections 2017

Tag Search

visual bubble
visual bubble
visual bubble
visual bubble

CEO's Message - Spotlight on Giving

Society of Critical Care Medicine Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice-President, David J. Martin, CAE, discusses the Society's donor development and gift stewardship program. 
 


Common Confusing Issues When Reporting Critical Care

Learn about reporting and coding critical care. 
 


A “Basic” Reality: Managing Sodium Bicarbonate and Acetate Shortages

Read about managing sodium bicarbonate and acetate shortages. 


Neonatal Acrania and Organ Donation: Whose Story Is This?

This article addresses the ethics of organ donation. 


Donor Profile: Judith Jacobi

Past Society President, Judith Jacobi, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM, reflects on her experience with SCCM. 
 


Impacting Critical Care with the SCCM-Weil Research Grant

Read about how the SCCM-Weil Research Grant is making an impact on critical care. 
 


Critical Care Fundamentals Around the World

Discover how SCCM’s Fundamentals courses are improving care worldwide. 
 


SCCM Members Show Outpouring of Support in SCCM Donation Drive

Learn about the many ways SCCM responded to needs in Puerto Rico beyond the donation drive. 
 


President's Message - You Get What You Give— And More!

In this article, Society President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FAAN, FCCM, discusses volunteerism and the Society's Creative Community. 
 


President’s Message - Preparing For a Main Event

In this article, Society President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FAAN, FCCM, discusses the upcoming 47th Critical Care Congress. 
 


Discrimination and Racial Hostility in the ICU

This article addresses the ethics of discrimination and racial hostility in the ICU. 
 


The Consultation Conundrum

Learn about how consultations are coded in critical care. 


Rising Drug Costs

This article addresses rising drug costs. 


Improving the Critical Care Experience of LGBTQ Patients and Families

Learn about how to improve the critical care experience of LGBTQ patients and families. 
 


Tackling Practice Challenges

Learn how the Intensivists In Practice Committee address the needs of clinicians practicing in the nonuniversity setting. 
 


Socioeconomic Status and Advance Care Planning in the ICU

Learn about socioeconomic status and advance care planning in the intensive care unit. 
 


Culturally Appropriate End-of-Life Care

Read about cultural considerations in end-of-life-care decisions. 
 


President's Message - Achieving Goals for Diversity

In this article, Society President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FCCM, discusses the Society's commitment to diversity. 
 


Facing Resistance

This article addresses the ethics of invoking the therapeutic privilege. 
 


The Role of Clergy on the Multidisciplinary ICU Team

Hear from a hospital chaplain about the the important role of clergy on the multidisciplinary intensive care unit team. 
 


Engaging Loved Ones in the ICU

A caregiver shares how critical care practitioners can best engage patients' loved ones.


Family Experience in the PICU

Learn about findings from the family experience project. 
 


Family-Centered Communication for New Intensivists

Read about family-centered communication for new intensivists. 
 


The Gap Analysis Tool for Family-Centered Care

Learn about the gap analysis tool for family-centered care. 
 


President's Message - The Critical Role of Families in ICU Care

In this article, Society President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FCCM, discusses the role of families in patient care and the intensive care unit. 
 


Weighing the Validity of Restraints

This ethics case study looks at the ethical dilemmas with the use of mechanical circulatory devices. 
 


2015 SCCM-Weil Research Grant Recipient Update

Learn about research conducted with support from the 2015 SCCM-Weil Research Grant. 
 


Ethical Dilemmas Related to Drug Shortages

Read about ethical dilemmas related to drug shortages. 


SCCM Awards THRIVE Grant

Learn about the recepient of the 2016 THRIVE Research Grant to Accelerate Recovery. 
 


Improving Long-Term Outcomes Research for Acute Respiratory Failure Survivors

Learn about a project focused on improving long-term outcomes research for acute respiratory failure survivors. 
 


Life After Sepsis

Hear the story of a patient's experience in the intensive care unit and life after sepsis. 


The Vasopressor Toolbox for Defending Blood Pressure

Read about the vasopressor toolbox for defending blood pressure. 


President's Message - In Guidelines We Trust

In this article, Society President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FCCM, discusses the importance of guidelines to clinical practice and to improving care in the intensive care unit. 
 


Implementation Challenges of Clinical Practice Guidelines

Last year, a task force of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) completed and published the new guidelines for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, discharge and triage.1 This far-reaching document was developed to close a significant gap present for almost two decades since the first SCCM guidelines publication in 1999; it provides evidence-based recommendations in these and multiple related clinical practice subjects. Despite the difficulties of developing such a document, its implementation and adoption will carry much greater challenges.


President’s Message - Expanding SCCM’s Commitment to Research

In this article, Society 2017 President Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN-CS, PhD, FCCM, discusses SCCM's focus on research and its latest research endeavor, Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network. 


Bedside Ultrasonography Guidelines for Critically Ill Patients

This article discusses the bedside ultrasonography guidelines for critically ill patients.


Medicare’s Physician Payment System Changes: Impact on Critical Care

Read about evolving reimbursement changes mandated by Medicare and how this impacts critical care. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the evolving reimbursement changes mandated by Medicare as a “coming battle” between primary care physicians and specialists.1 There has been very little to date in the critical care literature about these changes or how they might affect intensivists. In this article, we provide an overview of the legislative changes to Medicare, how they may affect physician reimbursement, and specifically how they might affect intensivists. It will be up to the critical care community to determine appropriate responses to this changing environment.


Coding and Documentation Is Crucial in Supporting Critical Care Services

Documentation should paint a picture of the patient’s condition. Medical necessity drives every patient encounter. In fact, the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) Program states, “Medical necessity of a service is the overarching criterion for payment in addition to the individual requirements of a CPT code.”1 Diagnosis coding is very important for any specialty but critically important when managing a critical care patient. Coding and documentation should tell the payer what and why— what services are performed and the reason for providing the service.


Issues for Admixtures in an Era of Drug Shortages

In an era fraught with drug shortages, hospitals are faced with limited options for some vital admixtures. When manufacturers have limited supplies or products are no longer available, hospital pharmacies may be faced with admixing these agents or outsourcing to compounding facilities. Preparation of admixtures is regulated in terms of sterility and stability for optimal patient safety. Providing appropriate drug therapy for patients in the intensive care unit can become problematic when medication supplies run short. Medication compounding may be offered as a method of drug shortage management.