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The effect of boarders on emergency department process flow.
J Emerg Med. 2014 May;46(5):706-10
Authors: Fogarty E, Saunders J, Cummins F
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding with boarders and waiting times are a significant concern in many countries.
OBJECTIVE: We aim to show the relationship between boarders in the ED and the percentage time to disposition in under 6 h for our ED patients.
METHOD: A review was carried out to show the percentage of patients presenting to the ED compliant with a 6-h standard per day compared to the number of attendances, the number of admissions to the hospital, and the number of boarders in the ED per day.
RESULTS: Over the 2-year study period, there was an average 0.37% fall in the ED's rate of compliance per day, with a 6-h standard for each boarder in the ED.
CONCLUSION: Boarding patients in the ED has a negative effect on compliance with our 6-h standard of time to disposition.
PMID: 24360124 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]