Emergency prevention calls
May 8, 2012
THE Australasian College for
Emergency Medicine is calling for
all areas of the healthcare sector to
be involved in preventative health,
including emergency medicine.
“The ‘teachable moment’ is a
powerful opportunity to intervene
to influence people’s risky behaviours,
and this is a moment which is
currently being lost,” said Dr Diana
Egerton-Warburton, Chair of the
ACEM Public Health Committee.
“Imagine you are told to stop
smoking at an outpatient clinic
getting a script or else while you
are in the ED when you think you
are having a heart attack.
“Which will work?,” she added.
To this end, the College is calling
for the health sector to “close the
gap” in the public health message.
“Although preventative health has
not been recognised as a core
emergency department function,
paradoxically people are more
receptive to these messages in the
ED,” said Egerton-Warburton.
The College is now set to fleshout
methods which can address
this Gap during a consensus
meeting set to take place this week.
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