Patient Patients in the ED



Dr. Bill Frohna

Our ED team at MedStar Washington Hospital Center is one of the most experienced in the country, handling more than 90,000 patient visits each year. That’s an average of about 250 patients per day. As many of you have experienced, it gets very, very busy.

Our new electronic medical record system is designed to help us provide better and safer care to our patients, which will help us enormously in hectic situations. In emergencies, every second matters. If you have been a patient with us before – or at any of our six other MedStar Health hospitals that use MedConnect – we will have your history instantly. We will know about any pre-existing conditions you have and take that information into consideration as we treat you. We can avoid giving you medications that could interact with what you already are taking.

At a hospital like ours, where we care for some of the most complex cases in the region while also taking care of the daily needs of people living in our community, we are looking forward to the extra help from our new “e-partner!”

As with anything “new,” however, we will experience delays in the ED as we become familiar with the system. So, in advance, I thank you – our patients – for your patience with us. In a short time, the new EMR will be helping us provide better, safer, more efficient, more timely care for everyone who comes through our doors.

Bill Frohna, MD, Chair, Emergency Medicine