title: Patient advocacy by rural emergency physicians after major service cuts: the case of Nelson, BC.
abstract: Efforts at cost containment through regionalization have led to reduced services in several rural emergency departments (EDs) in Canada. As a result, questions have been raised about patient safety and equitable access to care, compelling physicians to advocate for their patients. Few published reports on physicians' advocacy experiences pertaining to rural EDs exist. We describe our experience of patient advocacy after major service cuts at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson, BC. Despite mixed results, we suggest increased physician involvement in patient advocacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Que, Canada. rfleet@videotron.ca
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fleet
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plant
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ness
authors.forename: Shiraz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moola
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000458:organization & administration; D010819:Physician's Role