Nurse Practitioners Improving Emergency Department Quality and Patient Outcomes

Leanne H Fowler; Jessica Landry; Melissa F Nunn

doi:10.1016/j.cnc.2019.02.010

Nurse Practitioners Improving Emergency Department Quality and Patient Outcomes

Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2019 Jun;31(2):237-247. doi: 10.1016/j.cnc.2019.02.010.

Authors

Leanne H Fowler¹, Jessica Landry², Melissa F Nunn³

Affiliations

¹ LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, 1900 Gravier Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. Electronic address: lfowle@lsuhsc.edu.
² LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, 1900 Gravier Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
³ Children's Hospital New Orleans, LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.

PMID: 31047096
DOI: 10.1016/j.cnc.2019.02.010

Abstract

Emergency departments across the United States struggle to balance the overutilization of emergency services. Nurse practitioners (NPs) practicing in emergency departments improve quality indicators leading to the increased efficiency, timeliness, and effectiveness of care. NPs providing emergency services improve multiple national metrics, such as door-to-provider time, patient satisfaction, diagnostic test ordering, and left without being seen rates. NPs should be aware of the positive impact they make on the quality of care. NPs should monitor and trend patient outcomes they directly effect. More research is needed to identify ways NPs can continue to improve the quality of emergency services provided.

Keywords: ED outcomes; Emergency department; NP quality; Nurse practitioner.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Nurse Practitioners*
Patient Outcome Assessment*
Quality Indicators, Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
United States