BACKGROUND: Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is a serious public health issue, but few solutions exist. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the impact of physician triage on ED length of stay for discharged and admitted patients, left-without-being-seen (LWBS) rates, and ambulance diversion. METHODS: This was a pre-post study performed using retrospective data at an urban, academic tertiary care, Level I trauma center. On July 11, 2005, physician triage was initiated from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., 7 days a week. An additional physician was placed in triage so that the ED diagnostic evaluation and treatment could be started in waiting room patients. Using the hospital information system, we obtained individual patient data, ED and waiting room statistics, and diversion status data from a 9-week pre-physician triage (May 11, 2005 to July 10, 2005) and a 9-week physician triage (July 11, 2005 to September 9, 2005) period. RESULTS: We observed that overall ED length of stay decreased by 11 min, but this decrease was entirely attributed to non-admitted patients. No difference in ED length of stay was observed in admitted patients. LWBS rates decreased from 4.5% to 2.5%. Total time spent on ambulance diversion decreased from 5.6 days per month to 3.2 days per month. CONCLUSION: Physician triage was associated with a decrease in LWBS rates, and time spent on ambulance diversion. However, its effect on ED LOS was modest in non-admitted ED patients and negligible in admitted patients. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is a serious public health issue, but few solutions exist. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the impact of physician triage on ED length of stay for discharged and admitted patients, left-without-being-seen (LWBS) rates, and ambulance diversion. METHODS: This was a pre-post study performed using retrospective data at an urban, academic tertiary care, Level I trauma center. On July 11, 2005, physician triage was initiated from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., 7 days a week. An additional physician was placed in triage so that the ED diagnostic evaluation and treatment could be started in waiting room patients. Using the hospital information system, we obtained individual patient data, ED and waiting room statistics, and diversion status data from a 9-week pre-physician triage (May 11, 2005 to July 10, 2005) and a 9-week physician triage (July 11, 2005 to September 9, 2005) period. RESULTS: We observed that overall ED length of stay decreased by 11 min, but this decrease was entirely attributed to non-admitted patients. No difference in ED length of stay was observed in admitted patients. LWBS rates decreased from 4.5% to 2.5%. Total time spent on ambulance diversion decreased from 5.6 days per month to 3.2 days per month. CONCLUSION: Physician triage was associated with a decrease in LWBS rates, and time spent on ambulance diversion. However, its effect on ED LOS was modest in non-admitted ED patients and negligible in admitted patients. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors: David M Nestler; Alesia R Fratzke; Christopher J Church; Lori Scanlan-Hanson; Annie T Sadosty; Michael P Halasy; Janet L Finley; Andy Boggust; Erik P Hess Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2012-11 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Jason Imperato; Darren Scott Morris; David Binder; Christopher Fischer; John Patrick; Leon Dahomey Sanchez; Gary Setnik Journal: Intern Emerg Med Date: 2012-08-03 Impact factor: 3.397
Authors: David M Nestler; Michael P Halasy; Alesia R Fratzke; Christopher J Church; Lori N Scanlan-Hanson; Christine M Lohse; Ronna L Campbell; Annie T Sadosty; Erik P Hess Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2014-06-10 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Brian J Franklin; Kathleen Y Li; David M Somand; Keith E Kocher; Steven L Kronick; Vikas I Parekh; Eric Goralnick; A Tyler Nix; Nathan L Haas Journal: J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open Date: 2021-05-24
Authors: Michael A Lamantia; Paul W Stewart; Timothy F Platts-Mills; Kevin J Biese; Cory Forbach; Ezequiel Zamora; Brenda K McCall; Frances S Shofer; Charles B Cairns; Jan Busby-Whitehead; John S Kizer Journal: West J Emerg Med Date: 2013-09