Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the National Emergency Nurses Affiliation. Access to acute care in the setting of emergency department overcrowding

The impact of emergency department crowding on admission decisions and patient outcomes

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of emergency department (ED) crowding levels on patient admission decisions and outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective study was performed based on 2-year electronic health record data from a tertiary care hospital ED in Alberta, Canada. Using modified Poisson regression models, we studied the association of patient admission decisions and 7-day revisit probability with ED crowding levels measured by: 1) the total number of patients waiting and in treatment (ED census), 2) the number of boarding patients (boarder census), and 3) the average physician workload, calculated by the total number of ED patients divided by the number of physicians on duty (physician workload census). The control variables included age, gender, treatment area, triage level, and chief complaint. A subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate the heterogeneous effects among patients of different acuity levels.

RESULTS

Our dataset included 141,035 patient visit records after cleaning from August 2013 to July 2015. The patient admission probability was positively correlated with ED census (relative risk [RR] = 1.006, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.005 to 1.007) and physician workload census (RR = 1.029, 95% CI = 1.027 to 1.032), but inversely correlated with boarder census (RR = 0.991, 95% CI = 0.989 to 0.993). We further found that the 7-day revisit probability of discharged patients was positively associated with boarder census (RR = 1.009, 95% CI = 1.004 to 1.014).

CONCLUSIONS

Patient admission probability was found to be directly associated with ED census and physician workload census, but inversely associated with the boarder census. The effects of boarder census and physician workload census were stronger for patients of triage levels 3-5. Our results suggested that (i) insufficient physician staffing may lead to unnecessary patient admissions; (ii) too many boarding patients in ED leads to an increase in unsafe discharges, and as a result, an increase in 7-day revisit probability.

Predicting emergency department visits in a large teaching hospital

Background

Emergency department (ED) visits show a high volatility over time. Therefore, EDs are likely to be crowded at peak-volume moments. ED crowding is a widely reported problem with negative consequences for patients as well as staff. Previous studies on the predictive value of weather variables on ED visits show conflicting results. Also, no such studies were performed in the Netherlands. Therefore, we evaluated prediction models for the number of ED visits in our large the Netherlands teaching hospital based on calendar and weather variables as potential predictors.

Methods

Data on all ED visits from June 2016 until December 31, 2019, were extracted. The 2016–2018 data were used as training set, the 2019 data as test set. Weather data were extracted from three publicly available datasets from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Weather observations in proximity of the hospital were used to predict the weather in the hospital’s catchment area by applying the inverse distance weighting interpolation method. The predictability of daily ED visits was examined by creating linear prediction models using stepwise selection; the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used as measurement of fit.

Results

The number of daily ED visits shows a positive time trend and a large impact of calendar events (higher on Mondays and Fridays, lower on Saturdays and Sundays, higher at special times such as carnival, lower in holidays falling on Monday through Saturday, and summer vacation). The weather itself was a better predictor than weather volatility, but only showed a small effect; the calendar-only prediction model had very similar coefficients to the calendar+weather model for the days of the week, time trend, and special time periods (both MAPE’s were 8.7%).

Conclusions

Because of this similar performance, and the inaccuracy caused by weather forecasts, we decided the calendar-only model would be most useful in our hospital; it can probably be transferred for use in EDs of the same size and in a similar region. However, the variability in ED visits is considerable. Therefore, one should always anticipate potential unforeseen spikes and dips in ED visits that are not shown by the model.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12245-021-00357-6.

The effect of overcrowding in emergency departments on the admission rate according to the emergency triage level

Overcrowding in emergency departments is a serious public health issue. Recent studies have reported that overcrowding in emergency departments affects not only the quality of emergency care but also clinical decisions about admission. However, no studies have examined the characteristics of the patient groups whose admission rate is influenced by such overcrowding. This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a single emergency department between January 1 and December 31, 2018. Patients over 19 years old were enrolled and divided into three groups according to the degree of overcrowding-high, low, and non-based on the total number of patients in the emergency department. An emergency triage tool (the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale) was used, which categorizes patients into five different levels. We analyzed whether the degree of change in the admission rate according to the extent of overcrowding differed for each triage group. There were 73,776 patients in this study. In the analysis of all patient groups, the admission rate increased as the degree of overcrowding rose (the adjusted odds ratio for admission was 1.281 (1.225-1.339) in the high overcrowding group versus the non-overcrowding group). The analysis of the patients in each triage level showed an increase in the admission rate associated with the overcrowding, which was greater in the patient groups with a lower triage level (adjusted odds ratios for admission in the high overcrowding group versus non-overcrowding group: Korean Triage and Acuity Scale level 3 = 1.215 [1.120-1.317], level 4 = 1.294 [1.211-1.382], and level 5 = 1.954 [1.614-2.365]).

Effectiveness of interventions to alleviate emergency department crowding by older adults: a systematic review

Background

The growing demand for elderly care often exceeds the ability of emergency department (ED) services to provide quality of care within reasonable time. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of interventions on reducing ED crowding by older patients, and to identify core characteristics shared by successful interventions.

Methods

Six major biomedical databases were searched for (quasi)experimental studies published between January 1990 and March 2017 and assessing the effect of interventions for older patients on ED crowding related outcomes. Two independent reviewers screened and selected studies, assessed risk of bias and extracted data into a standardized form. Data were synthesized around the study setting, design, quality, intervention content, type of outcome and observed effects.

Results

Of the 16 included studies, eight (50%) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), two (13%) were non-RCTs and six (34%) were controlled before-after (CBA) studies. Thirteen studies (81%) evaluated effects on ED revisits and four studies (25%) evaluated effects on ED throughput time. Thirteen studies (81%) described multicomponent interventions. The rapid assessment and streaming of care for older adults based on time-efficiency goals by dedicated staff in a specific ED unit lead to a statistically significant decrease of ED length of stay (LOS). An ED-based consultant geriatrician showed significant time reduction between patient admission and geriatric review compared to an in-reaching geriatrician.

Conclusion

Inter-study heterogeneity and poor methodological quality hinder drawing firm conclusions on the intervention’s effectiveness in reducing ED crowding by older adults. More evidence-based research is needed using uniform and valid effect measures.

Trial registration

The protocol is registered with the PROSPERO International register of systematic reviews: ID = CRD42017075575).

Parent experiences and information needs relating to procedural pain in children: a systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

There exist many evidence-based interventions available to manage procedural pain in children and neonates, yet they are severely underutilized. Parents play an important role in the management of their child's pain; however, many do not possess adequate knowledge of how to effectively do so. The purpose of the planned study is to systematically review and synthesize current knowledge of the experiences and information needs of parents with regard to the management of their child's pain and distress related to medical procedures in the emergency department.

METHODS

We will conduct a systematic review using rigorous methods and reporting based on the PRISMA statement. We will conduct a comprehensive search of literature published between 2000 and 2016 reporting on parents' experiences and information needs with regard to helping their child manage procedural pain and distress. Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid PsycINFO, CINAHL, and PubMed will be searched. We will also search reference lists of key studies and gray literature sources. Two reviewers will screen the articles following inclusion criteria defined a priori. One reviewer will then extract the data from each article following a data extraction form developed by the study team. The second reviewer will check the data extraction for accuracy and completeness. Any disagreements with regard to study inclusion or data extraction will be resolved via discussion. Data from qualitative studies will be summarized thematically, while those from quantitative studies will be summarized narratively. The second reviewer will confirm the overarching themes resulting from the qualitative and quantitative data syntheses. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Research Checklist and the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies will be used to assess the quality of the evidence from each included study.

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, no published review exists that comprehensively reports on the experiences and information needs of parents related to the management of their child's procedural pain and distress. A systematic review of parents' experiences and information needs will help to inform strategies to empower them with the knowledge necessary to ensure their child's comfort during a painful procedure.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42016043698.

Emergency Department Overcrowding and Ambulance Turnaround Time

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to describe overcrowding in regional emergency departments in Seoul, Korea and evaluate the effect of crowdedness on ambulance turnaround time.

METHODS

This study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2010. Patients who were transported by 119-responding ambulances to 28 emergency centers within Seoul were eligible for enrollment. Overcrowding was defined as the average occupancy rate, which was equal to the average number of patients staying in an emergency department (ED) for 4 hours divided by the number of beds in the ED. After selecting groups for final analysis, multi-level regression modeling (MLM) was performed with random-effects for EDs, to evaluate associations between occupancy rate and turnaround time.

RESULTS

Between January 2010 and December 2010, 163,659 patients transported to 28 EDs were enrolled. The median occupancy rate was 0.42 (range: 0.10-1.94; interquartile range (IQR): 0.20-0.76). Overcrowded EDs were more likely to have older patients, those with normal mentality, and non-trauma patients. Overcrowded EDs were more likely to have longer turnaround intervals and traveling distances. The MLM analysis showed that an increase of 1% in occupancy rate was associated with 0.02-minute decrease in turnaround interval (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.03). In subgroup analyses limited to EDs with occupancy rates over 100%, we also observed a 0.03 minute decrease in turnaround interval per 1% increase in occupancy rate (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we found wide variation in emergency department crowding in a metropolitan Korean city. Our data indicate that ED overcrowding is negatively associated with turnaround interval with very small practical significance.

Individual emergency physician admission rates: predictably unpredictable

Objective:

We sought to determine the degree and possible causes of variability in admission practices among individual emergency physicians (EPs) at 1 emergency department (ED) using a Canadian Emergency Department Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS)–matched ED patient population.

Methods:

We distributed a survey measuring attitudes and demographics to all EPs (n= 30) at a large regional hospital. Hospital admissions data from 1 calendar year were matched to individual EP survey results. Emergency physicians were ranked as “lower,” “average” or “higher” admitters and, using these categorical variables, the data set was analyzed for correlations and trends.

Results:

Overall, 97.0% of the EPs responded to the survey. Admissions by EPs ranged from 8.7% to 17.0%, (mean 12.52, standard deviation [SD] 2.21) of all patients seen. CTAS category–specific admission data demonstrated variability in the admission ranking of individual EPs. No EPs consistently performed at any 1 admission ranking across all CTAS categories. More years of emergency medicine experience was significantly correlated with higher admissions in the CTAS-2 ranking (r= 0.4,p< 0.05). Whether a physician worked full-time, part-time or as a locum was not associated with patterns of admission, nor was any particular postgraduate certification (e.g., CCFP, CCFP EM, FRCPC) or any of the surveyed attitudinal traits.

Conclusion:

Individual EPs' overall and CTAS-specific admissions varied substantially, and followed an approximately normal distribution curve. Emergency physicians with more years of experience had a statistically higher CTAS-2 admission rate; however, other variables, including postgraduate certification status, decision-related attitudes toward admission, and reported practices were not associated with admission proportions. Emergency physicians tend to have uniquely individual admission ranking profiles across all the CTAS categories.

Emergency department use by CTAS Levels IV and V patients

Introduction:

Many emergency department (ED) visits are non-urgent. Postulated reasons for these visits include lack of access to family physicians, convenience and 24/7 access, perceived need for investigations or treatment not available elsewhere, and as a mechanism for expedited referral to other specialists. We conducted a patient survey to determine why non-urgent patients use our tertiary care ED. Our primary objective was to determine how often the lack of a family physician was associated with non-urgent ED use.

Methods:

The survey was administered to Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) Level IV and V patients who attended the ED of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, NS, from March 7 to March 13, 2005.

Results:

Of the 352 eligible patients, 235 completed the survey (response rate, 67%). Fifty-six percent (132/235) had an acute medical problem of less than 48 hours, including 48% (114/235) with a recent injury. Thirty-four percent (82/235) had been referred to the ED, 49% (114/235) believed they required a specific service that was unavailable elsewhere (e.g., radiology, suturing, casting) and 43% (100/235) presented because of self-perceived urgency of their condition. Eighty-four percent (198/235) had a family physician; 23% (55/235) used the ED because of limited access to theirfamily physician and 3% (6/235) used the ED because they did not have a family physician.

Conclusions:

In this setting, most non-urgent ED visits involved patients who required a specific service offered by the ED, patients who believed their condition was urgent, or patients who were referred from the community to the ED. From a patient perspective, relatively few visits would be considered inappropriate. Lack of a family physician was not associated with non-urgent ED use; however, inability to obtain timely access to the FP was a factor in one-quarter of cases.

Variations in monetary distribution among Ontario’s Alternative Funding Agreement workload model hospitals

Objectives:

Alternative Funding Agreements (AFAs) were in place in 41 hospital emergency departments (EDs) in Ontario at the time of this survey (May to August 2005). Each of these 41 hospitals works with its own internal administrative model. The primary objective of this paper was to document the administrative models used in these Ontario EDs. The secondary objective was to inform current and future AFA EDs of the potential models.

Methods:

Telephone surveys were conducted with a member of each of the 41 AFA workload model hospitals.

Results:

All hospitals provided at least 1 emergency physician to answer the questionnaire. Although most AFA hospitals divide the AFA fund pool on an hourly basis, there is impressive variation on premium values awarded for day, evening, weekend and night shifts. Other variations included holdback of funds for bonuses, distribution of non-OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) dollars, on-call allowances, and different pay scales for the general practitioners and locums working in some departments.

Conclusions:

Allowing flexibility in distribution of AFA dollars to physicians in each group has helped make this program more acceptable. Many issues unrelated to funding remain to be resolved in order to stabilize ED recruitment and retention as well as improve work satisfaction. Further research on these latter topics is required to develop a fair and equitable funding arrangement that supports and enhances physician coverage in EDs across Canada.

Key indicators of overcrowding in Canadian emergency departments: a Delphi study

Objective:

To identify the level of consensus among a group of Canadian emergency department (ED) experts on the importance of a set of indicators to document ED overcrowding.

Methods:

A 2-round Delphi survey was conducted from February 2005 to April 2005, with a multi-disciplinary group of 38 Canadian experts in various aspects of ED operations who rated the relevance of 36 measures and ranked their relative importance as indicators of ED overcrowding.

Results:

The response rates for the first and second rounds were 84% and 87%, respectively. The most important indicator identified by the experts was the percentage of the ED occupied by in-patients (mean on a 7-point Likert-type scale 6.53, standard deviation [SD] 0.80). The other 9 indicators, in order of the importance attributed, were the total number of ED patients (mean 6.35, SD 0.75), the total time in the ED (mean 6.16, SD 1.04), the percentage of time that the ED was at or above capacity (mean 6.16, SD 1.08), the overall bed occupancy (mean 6.19, SD 0.93), the time from bed request to bed assignment (mean 6.06, SD 1.08), the time from triage to care (mean 5.84, SD 1.08) the physician satisfaction (mean 5.84, SD 1.22), the time from bed availability to ward transfer (mean 5.53, SD 1.72) and the number of staffed acute care beds (mean 5.53, SD 1.57).

Conclusion:

Ten clinically important measures were prioritized by the participants as relevant indicators of ED overcrowding. Indicators derived from consensus techniques have face validity, but their metric properties must be tested to ensure their effectiveness for identifying ED overcrowding in different settings.

Developing emergency department physician shift schedules optimized to meet patient demand

Objectives: 1) To assess temporal patterns in historical patient arrival rates in an emergency department (ED) to determine the appropriate number of shift schedules in an acute care area and a fast-track clinic and 2) to determine whether physician scheduling can be improved by aligning physician productivity with patient arrivals using an optimization planning model.

Methods: Historical data were statistically analyzed to determine whether the number of patients arriving at the ED varied by weekday, weekend, or holiday weekend. Poisson-based generalized additive models were used to develop models of patient arrival rate throughout the day. A mathematical programming model was used to produce an optimal ED shift schedule for the estimated patient arrival rates. We compared the current physician schedule to three other scheduling scenarios: 1) a revised schedule produced by the planning model, 2) the revised schedule with an additional acute care physician, and 3) the revised schedule with an additional fast-track clinic physician.

Results: Statistical modelling found that patient arrival rates were different for acute care versus fast-track clinics; the patterns in arrivals followed essentially the same daily pattern in the acute care area; and arrival patterns differed on weekdays versus weekends in the fast-track clinic. The planning model reduced the unmet patient demand (i.e., the average number of patients arriving at the ED beyond the average physician productivity) by 19%, 39%, and 69% for the three scenarios examined.

Conclusions: The planning model improved the shift schedules by aligning physician productivity with patient arrivals at the ED.

Increases in emergency department occupancy are associated with adverse 30-day outcomes

OBJECTIVES

The associations between emergency department (ED) crowding and patient outcomes have not been investigated comprehensively in different types of ED. The study objective was to examine the associations of changes over time in ED occupancy with patient outcomes in a sample of EDs that vary by size and location. A secondary objective was to explore whether the relationship between ED occupancy and patient outcomes differed by ED characteristics (size/type and medical and nursing staffing ratios).

METHODS

Using linked administrative databases, the authors constructed a cohort of 677,475 patients who visited one of 42 hospital EDs with complete data for 2005 on ED bed and waiting room occupancy. Crowding was measured with the relative occupancy ratio separately for ED bed and waiting room patients, defined as the ratio of ED occupancy on the day of the index ED visit to the average annual occupancy at that same ED. Multivariable logistic regression (adjusting for patient and ED characteristics) was used to analyze 30-day outcomes: mortality, return ED visits, and hospital admission at the first return ED visit.

RESULTS

After adjustment for ED and patient characteristics, a 10% increase in ED bed relative occupancy ratio was associated with 3% increases in death and hospital admission at a return visit. A 10% increase in ED waiting room crowding was associated with a small decrease in return visits. There was a stronger association between bed crowding and mortality among larger EDs.

CONCLUSIONS

In Quebec EDs, increases in bed occupancy are associated with an increase in the rates of 30-day adverse outcomes, even after adjustment for patient and ED characteristics. The results raise important concerns about the quality of care during periods of ED crowding.

Emergency department conditions associated with the number of patients who leave a pediatric emergency department before physician assessment

OBJECTIVES

As emergency department (ED) waiting times and volumes increase, substantial numbers of patients leave without being seen (LWBS) by a physician. The objective of this study was to identify ED conditions reflecting patient input, throughput, and output associated with the number of patients who LWBS in a pediatric setting.

METHODS

This study was a retrospective, descriptive study using data from 1 urban, tertiary care pediatric ED. The study population consisted of all patient visits to the ED from April 2005 to March 2007. Multivariate Poisson regression analyses were used to examine the impact of the timing of patient arrival and ED conditions including patient acuity, volume, and waiting times on the number of patients who LWBS.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 138,361 patient visits corresponding to 2190 consecutive shifts; 11,055 patients (8%) left without being seen by a physician.In the multivariate analysis, the throughput variables, time from triage to physician assessment (rate ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 2.01-2.21), and time from registration to triage (rate ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.90) had the largest association with the number of patients who LWBS.

CONCLUSIONS

In the study ED, throughput variables played a more important role than input or output variables on the number of patients who LWBS. This finding, which contrasts with a work done previously in an ED serving primarily adults, highlights the importance of pediatric specific research on the impacts of increasing ED waiting times and volumes.

A regional survey to determine factors influencing patient choices in selecting a particular emergency department for care

OBJECTIVES

Increases in regional emergency department (ED) efficiencies might be obtained by shifting patients to less crowded EDs. The authors sought to determine factors associated with a patient's decision to choose a specific regional ED. Based on prior focus group discussions with volunteers, the hypothesis was that distance to a specific ED and perceived ED wait times would be important.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was developed using qualitative focus group methodology. The resulting survey was composed of 17 questions relating to patient decisions in choosing a specific ED and was administered in each of six EDs in a single urban Canadian health region at all hours of the day. Ambulatory patients with a Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) level 3 to 5 and aged ≥19 years were surveyed. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients whose main motivation for attending a specific ED was either distance traveled to reach the ED or perceived ED waiting time. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess factors influencing both of these reasons.

RESULTS

A total of 757 patients were approached and 634 surveys (83.8%) were completed. Distance from the ED (named by 44.0% of respondents as their primary reason) and perceived ED wait times (9.3%) were the main motivations for patients to attend a specific ED. Multivariable analysis of factors associated with choosing distance revealed that ED distance < 10 km (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.45 to 3.33; p = 0.001) and age ≥ 60 years (adjusted OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.26; p = 0.04) were significant in choosing a particular ED. Multivariable analysis of factors influencing wait times demonstrated that having a painful complaint (adjusted OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.98; p = 0.047) and age < 60 years (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.02 to 2.14; p = 0.049) were significant in choosing a particular ED.

CONCLUSIONS

In a multicenter survey of patients from an urban health region, distance to a specific ED and perceived ED wait times were the most important reasons for choosing that ED. Younger patients and those with painful conditions appear to place greater priority on wait times.

A before- and after-intervention trial for reducing unexpected events during the intrahospital transport of emergency patients

BACKGROUND

This study was aimed to explore the effect of intervention in safe intrahospital transport on the incidence of unexpected events (UEs) occurring during the transport of emergency patients.

METHODS

This study was performed in an urban tertiary teaching hospital emergency department (ED) from May 17 to October 30, 2010. Patients older than 15 years who were transported to general wards; intensive care units; and magnetic resonance imaging, intervention, or operation rooms were enrolled. Demographics and data on all UEs related to the devices, clinical situations, and tubes or lines were measured by registered nurses at pre- and postintervention period. The intervention was that acting nurses were required to use a designed transport checklists before the patients were transported. Primary outcomes were the rate of all and serious UEs during the pre- and postintervention periods. Serious UEs were defined as any worsening of a patient's clinical status. Statistical values were measured with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and compared using Student t tests or χ(2) tests.

RESULTS

In total, there were 680 transports before interventions and 605 transports after interventions. Overall, UEs decreased significantly from a value of 36.8% (95% CI, 33.1-40.5) in the preintervention period to a value of 22.1% (95% CI, 18.9-25.7) in the postintervention period (P = .001). Serious UEs in clinical status also decreased significantly from 9.1% (95% CI, 7.1-11.5) in the preintervention period to a value of 5.2% (95% CI, 3.6-7.4) in the postintervention period (P = .005).

CONCLUSION

A significant reduction in the rate of total and serious UEs during intrahospital transport from the ED was found through using transport checklists.

The association between crowding and mortality in admitted pediatric patients from mixed adult-pediatric emergency departments in Korea

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the effect of crowding on the hospital mortality of pediatric patients from adult-pediatric mixed emergency departments (EDs).

METHODS

We used the National Emergency Department Information System database, which included demographic, clinical, diagnostic, and procedural information with all emergency patients visiting to 116 EDs from Korea since 2004. We enrolled EDs with mean length of stay of more than 6 hours. Study period was from January 2006 to December 2008. Pediatric patients younger than 15 years admitted from these EDs were study targets. We calculated the mean patient volume (mean number of patients in the ED) over 8-hour shift for each hospital. When the volume reached the highest quartile, the period was considered as crowded. Patients who came during the overcrowded period were defined as the crowded group. We performed a Kaplan-Meier analysis, and hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTS

A total of 34 EDs and 125,031 admitted pediatric patients were included; 74,152 (59.3%) were male, and the mean age was 3.84 (95% CI, 3.82-3.86) years; 35,924 (28.7%) were determined as the crowded group. The 30-day mortality rates were 0.4% and 0.3% (P = 0.063) for the crowded group and for the noncrowded group, respectively. The hazard ratio for hospital mortality of the crowded group was 1.230 (95% CI, 1.019-1.558).

CONCLUSIONS

The ED crowding was associated with increased hazard for hospital mortality for pediatric patients in mixed EDs.

Does the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale identify non-urgent patients who can be triaged away from the emergency department?

INTRODUCTION

Non-urgent visits comprise a significant proportion of visits to most emergency departments (EDs). Given the severe overcrowding issues faced by many EDs, the use of the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) to identify patients who could be managed elsewhere seems to be an obvious way to reduce the pressure on the ED and "solve" the overcrowding problem.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the resource implications, in terms of stretcher use and waiting times, related to non-urgent patient visits and to estimate the potential impact on ED flow of redirecting these patients to alternate primary care settings.

METHODS

Retrospective database audit in an urban referral hospital ED. For this study, patients triaged as either CTAS Levels IV or V were considered "non-urgent."

RESULTS

Non-urgent patients comprised 30% of ED visits, but less than 5% of all those needing stretchers, along with their associated nursing resources. The longer waits consisted almost entirely of waits for available stretchers and would therefore have remained essentially unaffected. In spite of being labelled "non-urgent" by CTAS criteria, 7.3% of all patients requiring admission came from this group.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-urgent patients consume a small fraction of the ED stretchers and acute-care resources; therefore, strategies aimed at diverting non-urgent patients are unlikely to improve access for more urgent patients. Using the CTAS to identify patients for diversion away from the ED is measurably unsafe and will lead to inappropriate refusal of care for many patients requiring hospital treatment.

Markers of overcrowding in a pediatric emergency department

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to identify markers of overcrowding in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) according to expert opinion and then to use statistical methods to further explore the underlying construct of overcrowding.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey of all PED directors (n = 12) and pediatric emergency medicine fellowship program directors (n = 10) across Canada was conducted to elicit expert opinion on relevant markers of emergency department (ED) crowding. The list of markers was reduced to those specific to the ED for which data could be extracted from one tertiary care PED from an existing computerized patient tracking system. Data representing 2,190 consecutive shifts and 138,361 patient visits were collected between April 2005 and March 2007. Common factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the underlying factors that best represented overcrowding as determined by markers identified by experts in pediatric emergency medicine

RESULTS

The main markers of overcrowding identified by the survey included measures of patient volume (25%), ED operational processes (55%), and delays in transferring patients to inpatient beds (13%). Data collected on 41 markers were retained for the CFA. The results of the CFA indicated that the largest portion of variation in the data (48%) was accounted for by markers describing patient volumes and flow through the ED. Measures of admission delays accounted for a smaller proportion of variability (9%).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that for this tertiary PED, markers of ED operational processes and patient volume may be more relevant for determination of overcrowding than markers reflecting delays in transferring patients to inpatient beds. This study provides a foundation for further research on markers of overcrowding specific to the pediatric setting.

Rural emergency department use by CTAS IV and V patients

OBJECTIVE

For a variety of reasons, many emergency department (ED) visits are classified as less- or nonurgent (Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale [CTAS] level IV and V). A recent survey in a tertiary care ED identified some of these reasons. The purpose of our study was to determine if these same reasons applied to patients presenting with problems triaged at a similar level at a low- volume rural ED.

METHODS

A 9-question survey tool was administered to 141 CTAS level IV and V patients who attended the South Huron Hospital ED, in Exeter, Ontario, over a 2-week period in December 2006.

RESULTS

Of the 141 eligible patients, 137 (97.2%) completed the study. One hundred and twenty-two patients (89.1%) reported having a family physician (FP) and 53 (38.7%) had already seen an FP before presenting to the ED. Just over one-half of all patients (51.1%) had their problem for more than 48 hours, and 42 (30.7%) stated that they were referred to the ED for care. Fifty-three (38.7%) of the respondents felt they needed treatment as soon as possible. Many patients reported coming to the ED because: 1) their FP office was closed (21.9%); 2) they could not get a timely appointment (16.8%); or 3) the walk-in clinic was closed (24.8%). Only 6 patients (4.4%) specifically stated that they came to the ED because they had no FP. One-third of patients attended the ED because they believed it offered specialized services.

CONCLUSION

In this rural setting, most less- or nonurgent ED patients had an FP yet they went to the ED because they did not have access to primary care, because they perceived their problem to be urgent or because they were referred for or sought specific services.

Consultation outcomes in the emergency department: exploring rates and complexity

OBJECTIVE

Consultation is a common and important aspect of emergency department (ED) care. We prospectively examined the consultation rates, the admission rates of consulted patients, the emergency physician (EP) disposition prediction of consulted patients and the difficult consultations rates in 2 tertiary care hospitals.

METHODS

Attending EPs recorded consultations during 5 randomly selected shifts over an 8-week period using standardized forms. Subsequent computer outcome data were extracted for each patient encounter, as well as demographic data from the ED during days in which there was a study shift.

RESULTS

During 105 clinical shifts, 1930 patients were managed by 21 EPs (median 17 patients per shift; interquartile range 14-23). Overall, at least 1 consultation was requested in 38% of patients. More than one-half of the patients (54.3%) who received a consultation were admitted to the hospital. Consultation proportions were similar between males and females (51% v. 49%, p=0.03). Consultations occurred more frequently for patients who were older, had higher acuity presentations, arrived during daytime hours or arrived by ambulance. The proportion of agreement between the EP's and consultant's opinion on the need for admission was 89% (kappa=0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.72-0.83). Overall, 92% of patents received 1 consultation. Six percent of the consultations were perceived as "difficult" by the EPs (defined as the EP's subjective impression of difficulties with consultation times, accessibility and availability of consultants, and the interaction with consultants or disposition issues).

CONCLUSION

Consultation is a common process in the ED. It often results in admission and is predictable based on simple patient factors. Because of perceived difficulty with consultations, strategies to improve the EP consultation process in the ED seem warranted.

Impact of a triage liaison physician on emergency department overcrowding and throughput: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Triage liaison physicians (TLPs) have been employed in overcrowded emergency departments (EDs); however, their effectiveness remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the implementation of TLP shifts at an academic tertiary care adult ED using comprehensive outcome reporting.

METHODS

A six-week TLP clinical research project was conducted between December 9, 2005, and February 9, 2006. A TLP was deployed for nine hours (11 AM to 8 PM) daily to initiate patient management, assist triage nurses, answer all medical consult or transfer calls, and manage ED administrative matters. The study was divided into three two-week blocks; within each block, seven days were randomized to TLP shifts and the other seven to control shifts. Outcomes included patient length of stay, proportion of patients who left without complete assessment, staff satisfaction, and episodes of ambulance diversion.

RESULTS

TLPs assessed a median of 14 patients per shift (interquartile range, 13-17), received 15 telephone calls per shift (interquartile range, 14-20), and spent 17-81 minutes per shift consulting on the telephone. The number of patients and their age, gender, and triage score during the TLP and control shifts were similar. Overall, length of stay was decreased by 36 minutes compared with control days (4:21 vs. 4:57; p = 0.001). Left without complete assessment cases decreased from 6.6% to 5.4% (a 20% relative decrease) during the TLP coverage. The ambulance wait time and number of episodes of ambulance diversion were similar on TLP and control days.

CONCLUSIONS

A TLP improved important outcomes in an overcrowded ED and could improve delivery of emergency medical care in similar tertiary care EDs.

Emergency department overcrowding - implications for paediatric emergency medicine

Emergency department (ED) overcrowding has been an international phenomenon for more than 10 years. It is important to understand that ED overcrowding is a measure of health system efficiency and is not strictly related to ED volumes or capacity. ED overcrowding is defined as a situation in which the demand for emergency services exceeds the ability of physicians and nurses to provide quality care within a reasonable time. The major factor resulting in ED overcrowding is the presence of admitted patients in the ED for prolonged periods of time, not a high volume of low-acuity patients. While limited data are available for paediatric EDs, winter respiratory illnesses set the stage for ED overcrowding, which are epidemic in adult or general EDs. Prehospital-, ED- and hospital-related factors are described in the present article, and these may help prevent or manage this important patient safety problem.

The opportunity loss of boarding admitted patients in the emergency department

OBJECTIVES

Boarding admitted patients in emergency department (ED) treatment beds has been recognized as a major cause of ED crowding and ambulance diversions. When process delays impede the transfer of admitted patients from the ED to inpatient units, the department's capacity to accept new arrivals and to generate revenue from additional patient services is restricted. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of functional ED treatment capacity that was used to board inpatients during 12 months of operations at a community hospital and to estimate the value of that lost treatment capacity.

METHODS

Historical data from 62,588 patient visits to the ED of a 450-bed nonprofit community teaching hospital in south central Pennsylvania between July 2004 and June 2005 were used to determine the amount of treatment bed occupancy lost to inpatient holding and the revenue potential of utilizing that blocked production capacity for additional patient visits.

RESULTS

Transferring admitted patients from the ED to an inpatient unit within 120 minutes would have increased the functional treatment capacity of the ED by 10,397 hours during the 12 months of this study. By reducing admission process delays, the hospital could potentially have accommodated another 3,175 patient encounters in its existing treatment spaces. Providing emergency services to new patients in ED beds formerly used to board inpatients could have generated $3,960,264 in additional net revenue for the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Significantly higher operational revenues could be generated by reducing output delays that restrict optimal utilization of existing ED treatment capacity.

How does fast track affect quality of care in the emergency department?

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Use of fast track has been shown to improve the emergency department flow of less urgent patients. It has been speculated, however, that this could negatively affect the care of urgent patients. The objective of this study was to determine whether a dedicated fast track for less urgent patients [Canadian Triage and Acuity scale category 4/5 (CTAS 4/5)] affected (1) the time to assessment for urgent patients (CTAS 3), (2) the length of stay for less urgent patients (CTAS 4 and 5), and (3) the left-without-being-seen rate.

METHODS

In June 2003, fast track was opened in our emergency department from 13:00 to 19:00 h. A before-after intervention comparison analysis was completed for 1 week in Aug 2002 and the same week in Aug 2003. Data collected included (1) time to assessment of CTAS 3 patients, (2) the length of stay for CTAS 4/5 patients, and (3) percentage of patients who left without being seen.

RESULTS

A total of 368 patients were reviewed for 2002 and 380 patients were reviewed for 2003. Median time to assessment of CTAS 3 patients presenting from 13:00 to 19:00 h was reduced from 66 min (Interquartile range: 40, 94 min) in 2002 to 60 min (IQR: 38, 108 min) after fast track was open in 2003 (P = 0.95). Median length of stay of CTAS 4 and 5 patients was reduced from 170 min (IQR: 111, 256 min) to 110 min (IQR: 69, 185 min) (P < 0.001). The overall left-without-being-seen rate decreased from 5% (20/368) to 2% (9/380).

CONCLUSION

A dedicated fast track for CTAS 4/5 patients can reduce the length of stay and the left-without-being-seen rate with no impact on CTAS 3 patients seen in the main emergency department.

Emergency department overcrowding: the Emergency Department Cardiac Analogy Model (EDCAM)

Increasing patient numbers, changing demographics and altered patient expectations have all contributed to the current problem with 'overcrowding' in emergency departments (EDs). The problem has reached crisis level in a number of countries, with significant implications for patient safety, quality of care, staff 'burnout' and patient and staff satisfaction. There is no single, clear definition of the cause of overcrowding, nor a simple means of addressing the problem. For some hospitals, the option of ambulance diversion has become a necessity, as overcrowded waiting rooms and 'bed-block' force emergency staff to turn patients away. But what are the options when ambulance diversion is not possible? Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand is a tertiary level facility with an emergency department that sees on average 65,000 patients per year. There are no other EDs to whom patients can be diverted, and so despite admission rates from the ED of up to 48%, other options need to be examined. In order to develop a series of unified responses, which acknowledge the multifactorial nature of the problem, the Emergency Department Cardiac Analogy model of ED flow, was developed. This model highlights the need to intervene at each of three key points, in order to address the issue of overcrowding and its associated problems.

Community influenza outbreaks and emergency department ambulance diversion

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Influenza has been linked to emergency department (ED) crowding, yet few studies have examined this association. We describe the relationship between ED crowding and influenza outbreaks.

METHODS

A retrospective time series analysis was conducted in Toronto from January 1996 to April 1999 (n=170 weeks). We obtained weekly data on laboratory-confirmed influenza and other respiratory virus cases in the community, ED ambulance diversion, and visits to all city EDs (n=20). The main outcome was ambulance diversion, measured as the mean number of hours per week in which EDs were forced to divert all ambulances.

RESULTS

A mean of 10,936 ED visits occurred weekly (average age of patients 39.9 years; 51% female patients). EDs diverted ambulances an average of 3.4 hours per week (range 0.3 to 15 hours). Four influenza seasons occurred, lasting between 18 and 30 weeks each, with weekly influenza case counts ranging from 0 to 236. There were fewer than 10 cases per week in 119 of 170 weeks (70%). In time-series models, influenza was independently associated with ED ambulance diversion (P<.0001). For every 100 cases of influenza in the community in a given week, ED ambulance diversion would be expected to increase by 2.5 h/wk at the average ED (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 3.9 h/wk). During influenza seasons, 24.3% (95% CI 11.3% to 37.2%) of observed weekly ambulance diversion was attributable to influenza.

CONCLUSION

Influenza seasons are associated with increased ED ambulance diversion. The impact is substantial but brief because there is little or no influenza activity most of each year.

Current political issues facing emergency medicine in Canada

Health care in Canada is universal, accessible, transferable and publicly funded. Each of Canada's provinces has the responsibility for health care funding and delivery through its ministry of health, controlled by the governing provincial party and overseen by a Minister of Health. The Federal Government is responsible for ensuring the provinces conform to the spirit and regulations within the Canada Health Act and for broad programme funding, through the federal Minister of Health. As such, access to emergency health services is available to all Canadians free of direct charge. Some aspects of health care are the direct responsibility of citizens, such as ambulance services, medications (for those who can afford them), and 'non-essential' services. For most Canadians, however, care for acute illness and injury is provided without barriers in EDs while generalists such as family physicians and paediatricians provide primary care.