The effect of boarders on emergency department process flow

Eoin Fogarty; Jean Saunders; Fergal Cummins

doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.08.111

The effect of boarders on emergency department process flow

J Emerg Med. 2014 May;46(5):706-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.08.111. Epub 2013 Dec 17.

Authors

Eoin Fogarty¹, Jean Saunders², Fergal Cummins³

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Department, University of Limerick Hospital, Limerick, Ireland.
² Statistical Consulting Unit/CSTAR @ UL, Faculty of Education & Health Sciences (SCU affiliated to Department of Maths & Statistics), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Limerick Hospital, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland.

PMID: 24360124
DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.08.111

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.

Keywords: overcrowding; process flow.

MeSH terms

Crowding*
Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data*
Northern Ireland
Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data*