Patient flow in the emergency department: is timeliness to events related to length of hospital stay?

Management of critically ill patients occurs frequently in emergency departments (ED) while waiting for intensive care beds to become available. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of timeliness of interventions in the ED on ED outcomes and hospital length of stay. Sample size was 1536 intensive care unit admissions. Timeliness to first medication and order for intensive care unit bed to leaving the ED influenced both ED and hospital length of stay. Timely interventions affect outcomes, access, and quality of care.