The impact of hospital boarding on the emergency department waiting room.
length of stay; crowding; emergency department boarding; emergency department wait times; hospital occupancy; waiting room
BACKGROUND: Patient boarding in the emergency department (ED) is a significant issue leading to increased morbidity/mortality, longer lengths of stay, and higher hospital costs. We examined the impact of boarding patients on the ED waiting room. Additionally, we determined whether facility type, patient acuity, time of day, or hospital occupancy impacted waiting rooms in 18 EDs across a large healthcare system. METHODS: This was a retrospective multicenter study that included all ED encounters between January 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019. Encounters with missing Emergency Severity Index (ESI) level were excluded. ESI levels were defined as high (ESI 1,2), middle (ESI 3), and low (ESI 4,5). Spearman correlation coefficients measured the relationship between boarded patients and number of patients in ED waiting room. A multivariable mixed effects model identified drivers of this relationship. RESULTS: A total of 1,134,178 encounters were included. Spearman correlation coefficient was significant between number of patients in the ED waiting room and patient boarding (0.54). For every additional patient boarded/hour, the number of patients waiting/hour in the waiting room increased by 8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.09). The number of patients waiting for a room/hour was 2.28 times higher for middle than for high acuity. The number of patients in waiting room slightly decreased as hospital occupancy increased (95% CI = 0.997-0.997). CONCLUSION: Number of patients in ED waiting room are directly related to boarding times and hospital occupancy. ED waiting room times should be considered as not just an ED operational issue, but an aspect of hospital throughput.
Smalley CM; Simon EL; Meldon SW; Muir McKinsey R; Briskin I; Crane S; Delgado F; Borden BL; Fertel BS
Journal Of The American College Of Emergency Physicians Open
2020
2020-10
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
journalArticle
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12100" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1002/emp2.12100</a>
Emergency department patients who leave before treatment is complete
HEALTH facilities; CONFIDENCE intervals; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; MEDICAL cooperation; METROPOLITAN areas; RESEARCH; RETROSPECTIVE studies; PATIENTS; EMERGENCY medical services; LONGITUDINAL method; MEDICAL screening; MEDICAL appointments
Introduction: Emergency department (ED) patients who leave before treatment is complete (LBTC) represent medicolegal risk and lost revenue. We sought to examine LBTC return visits characteristics and potential revenue effects for a large healthcare system. Methods: This retrospective, multicenter study examined all encounters from January 1-December 31, 2019 at 18 EDs. The LBTC patients were divided into left without being seen (LWBS), defined as leaving prior to completed medical screening exam (MSE), and left subsequent to being seen (LSBS), defined as leaving after MSE was complete but before disposition. We recorded 30-day returns by facility type including median return hours, admission rate, and return to index ED. Expected realization rate and potential charges were calculated for each patient visit. Results: During the study period 626,548 ED visits occurred; 20,158 (3.2%) LBTC index encounters occurred, and 6745 (33.5%) returned within 30 days. The majority (41.7%) returned in <24 hours with 76.1% returning in 10 days and 66.4% returning to index ED. Median return time was 43.3 hours, and 23.2% were admitted. Urban community EDs had the highest 30-day return rate (37.8%, 95% confidence interval, 36.41-39.1). Patients categorized as LSBS had longer median return hours (66.0) and higher admission rates (29.8%) than the LWBS cohort. There was a net potential realization rate of $9.5 million to the healthcare system. Conclusion: In our system, LSBS patients had longer return times and higher admission rates than LWBS patients. There was significant potential financial impact for the system. Further studies should examine how healthcare systems can reduce risk and financial impacts of LBTC patients.
Smalley CM; Meldon SW; Simon EL; Muir McKinsey R; Delgado F; Fertel BS
Western Journal Of Emergency Medicine
2021
2021-03
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
journalArticle
<a href="http://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2020.11.48427" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.5811/westjem.2020.11.48427</a>
COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions bring patients to emergency departments.
COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccination; Emergency medicine; Vaccination adverse events
Fertel BS; Milk J; Simon EL; Muir McKinsey R; Smalley CM
The American Journal Of Emergency Medicine
2021
2021-05-06
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
journalArticle
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.013" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.013</a>