Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2022.61.s1.01
Effect of the Introduction of Emergency Medicine Specialists on the Emergency Department Performance Indicators: a retrospective data analysis
Maša Sorić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5002-9800
; Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia
Diana Špoljar
orcid.org/0000-0001-5789-113X
; Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia
Mia Golubić
orcid.org/0000-0002-2980-4761
; Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Patient management in the emergency department (ED) is evaluated by performance
indicators, such as wait times (time to be seen by a physician), length of stay (LOS) and the
number of diagnostic tests per patient. To improve the quality of care, dedicated emergency medicine
(EM) specialists are employed to work in the ED. The aim of this study is to evaluate three performance
indicators of patient management in the ED compared by specialty, internal medicine (IM)
versus EM. Research was conducted in the ED of a large tertiary teaching hospital. A retrospective
data analysis of the hospital information system was conducted for the period when only IM specialists
were working as attendants, versus a period when two EM specialists joined the ED team. We
calculated the percentage of patients seen within the recommended time per Australasian Triage system
(AST) category and compared the average LOS and the average number of tests per patient,
using data from June 2017 to January 2020. Means, standard deviation, standard error, 95% confidence
interval were calculated, and the independent t-test was used to compare means. With the introduction
of the EM specialists, the percentage of patients examined within the recommended time frame
per AST category was higher. There was a significant reduction in LOS in the ED when comparing
only IM specialists to IM specialists with two EM specialists (p<0.001). The IM physicians on average
do more tests than EM specialists, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). There was a significant
improvement in efficiency in the ED with the introduction of EM specialists which was manifested
by shorter patient wait times and shorter length of stay in the Emergency Department and fewer diagnostic
test orders.
Keywords
Quality Indicators, Healthcare; Emergency Service, Hospital; Attending Physicians, Hospital; Triage; Length of Stay; Time Management
Hrčak ID:
281142
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2022.
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