Managing violent patient incidents: the role of a behavioral emergency committee.
The Portland (Oregon) Veterans Administration Medical Center acknowledged the problem of dealing with aggressive and disruptive patients by establishing a behavioral emergency committee (BEC). The BEC first introduced a system for tracking disruptive patient incidents and then initiated an electronic flagging system for violence-prone patients that alerts medical center clinical and security personnel when a potentially dangerous patient is present. The committee also coordinates violence control training for medical center personnel. Since the BEC was formed, disruptive behavior among this high-risk patient group has been significantly reduced.
D003625:Data Collection; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D009922:Oregon; D010361:Patients; D011367:Professional Staff Committees / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012308:Risk Management; D014754:Violence; D014861:Washington