Eveline Hitti1, Dima Hadid2, Hani Tamim3, Moustafa Al Hariri4, Mazen El Sayed5. 1. Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: eh16@aub.edu.lb. 2. Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: dh46@aub.edu.lb. 3. Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: htamim@aub.edu.lb. 4. Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: ma147@aub.edu.lb. 5. Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: melsayed@aub.edu.lb.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study identifies reasons and predictors of LWBS and examines outcomes of patients in a model that uses "point-of-service" (POS) collection for low acuity patients. METHODS: This was a matched case-control study of all patients who left without being seen from the ED of a tertiary care center in Beirut Lebanon between June 2016 and May 2017. Matching was done for the ESI score, date and time (±2 h). A descriptive analysis and a bivariate analysis were conducted comparing patients who LWBS and those who completed their medical treatment. This was followed by a Logistic regression to identify predictors of LWBS. RESULTS: 133 LWBS cases and 133 matched controls were enrolled in the study. Mean age for LWBS patients was (31.69 ± 15.29). The average reported wait time of LWBS patients was reported as 27.48 min (±25.09). Reasons for LWBS were; non-compensable status (66.9%), financial reasons (12.8%), long waiting times (12.8%), and others (8.3%). The majority of LWBS patients (81.2%) sought medical care after leaving the ED, and 8.3% of the LWBS patients represented to the ED after 48 h. Important predictors of LWBS included male gender, lower than undergraduate education level, waiting room time, non-compensable coverage status and fewer ED visits in the past year. CONCLUSION: In an ED setting with POS collection for low acuity patients, non-compensable coverage status was the strongest predictor for LWBS. Further studies are needed to assess the outcomes of patients who LWBS in this model of care.
OBJECTIVE: This study identifies reasons and predictors of LWBS and examines outcomes of patients in a model that uses "point-of-service" (POS) collection for low acuity patients. METHODS: This was a matched case-control study of all patients who left without being seen from the ED of a tertiary care center in Beirut Lebanon between June 2016 and May 2017. Matching was done for the ESI score, date and time (±2 h). A descriptive analysis and a bivariate analysis were conducted comparing patients who LWBS and those who completed their medical treatment. This was followed by a Logistic regression to identify predictors of LWBS. RESULTS: 133 LWBS cases and 133 matched controls were enrolled in the study. Mean age for LWBSpatients was (31.69 ± 15.29). The average reported wait time of LWBSpatients was reported as 27.48 min (±25.09). Reasons for LWBS were; non-compensable status (66.9%), financial reasons (12.8%), long waiting times (12.8%), and others (8.3%). The majority of LWBSpatients (81.2%) sought medical care after leaving the ED, and 8.3% of the LWBSpatients represented to the ED after 48 h. Important predictors of LWBS included male gender, lower than undergraduate education level, waiting room time, non-compensable coverage status and fewer ED visits in the past year. CONCLUSION: In an ED setting with POS collection for low acuity patients, non-compensable coverage status was the strongest predictor for LWBS. Further studies are needed to assess the outcomes of patients who LWBS in this model of care.