The association between the transfer of emergency department boarders to inpatient hallways or off-service beds and the quality of oncology care.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (34_suppl) ◽  
pp. 113-113
Author(s):  
Simron Singh ◽  
Maureen E. Trudeau ◽  
Kevin Robert Imrie ◽  
Ben De Mendonca ◽  
John Fralick ◽  
...  

113 Background: Emergency department (ED) crowding is an important issue in the delivery of high-quality medical care. At our quaternary care hospital a policy was implemented to ease ED crowding by moving suitable admitted patients into inpatient hallway beds or off-service beds. This study assesses the impact of off service and hallway bed admissions on patient care and satisfaction. Methods: Retrospective and prospective data were collected from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2011, on admissions to the oncology service via the ED. Patient care data was collected as follows: chest/abdominal exams performed at first MD visit, number of MD visits within 48 hours, time to antibiotic administration, time to complete vitals, and mean time spent in the ED. Satisfaction surveys were also given to all patients. Results: One hundred and eighteen patients were admitted to a hallway bed (HALL). A random sample of 90 patients were used for comparison in the on service (ON) and off service (OFF) groups. Among HALL patients, 4% percent discharged themselves against medical advice (0% of OFF and ON patients). MD visits within 48 hours were the same among all groups (mean=6). Forty-two percent of hallway patients had a chest/abdominal exam during the first MD visit (32% and 33% for OFF and ON patients, respectively). Time to first completion of vitals was 1:05 (hh:mm) for HALL patients (1:21 and 00:34 for OFF and ON patients, respectively). Time to antibiotic administration was 15:34 for hallway patients (23:59 and 12:35 for OFF and ON patients, respectively). More HALL patients expressed dissatisfaction with their hospital stay (16.7%) compared to OFF (0%) and ON patients (0%). Mean time for admitted patients in the ED awaiting their HALL bed was 9:14, considerably longer than for OFF patients (3:08) and ON patients (4:19). Conclusions: Admission of oncology patients in hallway or in off-service beds did not appear to compromise the timeliness or frequency of medical assessments. However, delays in nursing care (completion of vital signs and drug administration) were noted and patient satisfaction was decreased. Moreover, the policy did not meet its intent to reduce patient time spent in the ED.

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Lim ◽  
Matthew C. Cheung ◽  
Maureen E. Trudeau ◽  
Kevin R. Imrie ◽  
Ben De Mendonca ◽  
...  

Objective: A protocol was implemented to ease Emergency Department (ED) crowding by moving suitable admitted patients into inpatient hallway beds (HALL) or off-service beds (OFF) when beds on an admitting service’s designated ward (ON) were not available. This study assessed the impact of hallway and off-service oncology admissions on ED patient flow, quality of care and patient satisfaction.Methods: Retrospective and prospective data were collected on patients admitted to the medical oncology service from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2011. Data on clinician assessments and time performance measures were collected. Satisfaction surveys were prospectively administered to all patients. Results: Two hundred and ninty-seven patients (117 HALL, 90 OFF, 90 ON) were included in this study. There were no significant differences between groups for frequency of physician assessments, physical exam maneuvers at initial physician visit, time to complete vital signs or time to medication administration. The median (IQR) time spent admitted in the ED prior to departure from the ED was significantly longer for HALL patients (5.53 hrs [1.59-13.03 hrs]) compared to OFF patients (2.00 hrs [0.37-3.69 hrs]) and ON patients (2.18 hrs [0.15-5.57 hrs]) (p < .01). Similarly, the median (IQR) total ED length of stay was significantly longer for HALL patients (13.82 hrs [7.43-20.72 hrs]) compared to OFF patients (7.18 hrs [5.72-11.42 hrs]) and ON patients (9.34 hrs [5.43-14.06 hrs]) (p < .01). HALL patients gave significantly lower overall satisfaction scores with mean (SD) satisfaction scores for HALL, OFF and ON patients being 3.58 (1.20), 4.23 (0.58) and 4.29 (0.69) respectively (p < .01). Among HALL patients, 58% were not comfortable being transferred into the hallway and 4% discharged themselves against medical advice. Conclusions: The protocol for transferring ED admitted patients to inpatient hallway beds did not reduce ED length of stay for oncology patients. The timeliness and frequency of clinical assessments were not compromised; however, patient satisfaction was decreased.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14029-e14029
Author(s):  
Gillian Blanchard ◽  
Antonino Bonaventura ◽  
Nicholas Dafters ◽  
Fiona Day ◽  
Craig Gedye ◽  
...  

e14029 Background: A significant delay in oncology patient journey through emergency department (ED) due to various reasons such as multiple specialists involved, difficulty in accessing timely advice from extremely busy inpatient/outpatient oncology teams, etc. In order to streamline admissions and discharges for oncology patients, a new model of care was created with the introduction of oncology nurse practitioner (ONP) at Calvary Mater Newcastle ED. This model operated during business hours three days a week with an aim to improve continuity of care, to enhance patients’ experience and meet organisations key performance indicators (KPIs). Limited research into the impact of these services on patient care and patient experience, particularly from service users’ perspective. Methods: A retrospective audit (6 months) has been undertaken to determine the impact of this model of care on time to specialty transfer, number of admissions versus discharges and patients representations through ED when ONP was available versus standard care. Results: During the audit period, ONP reviewed 149 patients. Fifty-four (36%) patients were discharged and of those 6 (11%) returned (within 28 days) with same or related issues. There was an average reduction in time to disposition planning for ED oncology patients of approximately 83 (193 vs 110) minutes when ONP was present at ED (one month review). Using a raw bed day costing, this resulted in a significant financial saving. Further cost analysis of this model is underway. Conclusions: The introduction of ONP into an acute care hospital ED has proven to be effective in terms of continuity of patient care, financial savings and assisted ED in meeting KPIs. The perception within the senior emergency management team is that this new model of care has been an unqualified success. ONP has rapidly and effectively joined emergency team and has seamlessly adjusted practice to the new environment. ED remains highly supportive of this new model of care. This model of care is one that could be translated easily to other specialities. Further analysis will be presented at the time of ASCO meeting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S335-S336
Author(s):  
Hyeri Seok ◽  
Ju-Hyun Song ◽  
Ji Hoon Jeon ◽  
Hee Kyoung Choi ◽  
Won Suk Choi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Even after the introduction of the Sepsis-3 definition, there is still debate on the ideal antibiotic administration time in patients with sepsis. This study was performed to evaluate the association between the timing of antibiotic administration and mortality in sepsis patients who visited the emergency room. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on patients who were diagnosed as sepsis with Sepsis-3 definition among patients who visited the emergency department (ED) of Korea University Ansan Hospital from September 2017 to January 2019. The timing of antibiotic administration was defined as the time in hours from ED arrival until the first antibiotic administration. Cox logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between time to antibiotics and 7-, 14-, and 28-day mortality. Results During the study period, a total of 251 patients were enrolled with a 7-, 14-, and 28-day mortality of 16.7%, 36.3%, and 57.4%, respectively. The median time to antibiotic administration was 247 minutes (interquartile range 72 – 202 minutes). The mean age was 72 ± 15 years old and 122 patients (48.6%) were female. The most common site of infection was respiratory infection. The timing of antibiotic administration were not associated with 7-, 14-, and 28-day mortality. Female (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.06 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21 – 3.53]; P value = 0.008), SOFA score (aHR 1.17 [95% CI 1.05 - 1.31]; P = 0.005), and initial lactate level (aHR 1.13 [95% CI 1.05 - 1.22]; P = 0.001) increased the risk of 7-day mortality. Female (aHR 2.07 [95% CI 1.48 – 2.89]; P ≤ 0.001), Charlson comorbidity index (aHR 1.12 [95% CI 1.02 - 1.24]; P = 0.025), and initial lactate level (aHR 1.19 [95% CI 1.02 - 1.16]; P = 0.011) increased the risk of 14-day mortality. Female (aHR 1.95 [95% CI 1.50 – 2.54]; P = 0.001) increased the risk of 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. Conclusion The timing of antibiotic administration did not increase the risk of mortality in the treatment of sepsis patients who visited ED. Rather, the SOFA score, lactate, female, and comorbidity increased the mortality associated with sepsis. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Sachdeva seema sachdeva ◽  
Akshay Kumar Akshay Kumar ◽  
Parveen Aggarwal Parveen Aggarwal

Abstract BackgroundSevere exacerbation of asthma are potentially life-threatening and therefore require prompt care and frequent management. Important elements of early treatment includes recognition of early signs and symptoms of breathing difficulty and timely prescription and administration of therapeutic agents. A subsequent delay in receiving nebulization during an acute exacerbation of asthma can leads to cardiac arrest and even death. AimTo reduce the gap in administration of nebulization from its prescription time among red triaged patients by 50% from its baseline. Setting and designThis interventional study was conducted among red triaged patients in emergency department of tertiary care hospital, India . Material and MethodsBaseline information was collected during first 4 weeks to find gap in administration of nebulization from its prescription time. Fish bone analysis and process map were laid down to analyse the situation. The intervention using targeted bundles was done via 3 PDSA (PDSA1: indenting the nebulizers, PDSA 2: training of doctors and nurses, PDSA 3; introducing equipment checklist) to reduce the gap . A run chart using time series analysis model was used to compare the pre and post intervention nebulization gap. ResultsTotal 74 patients (30 in pre- intervention, 44 in post intervention) admitted in red triaged area were observed for nebulization gap from prescription to administration. Median time for nebulization gap before intervention was 46.5 minutes which reduced to 15 minutes in post intervention phase. ConclusionThis bundles of targeted interventions was successful to reduce the nebulization gap. Key words: nebulization gap, prescription time, administration time


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e023464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marica Cassarino ◽  
Katie Robinson ◽  
Rosie Quinn ◽  
Breda Naddy ◽  
Andrew O’Regan ◽  
...  

IntroductionFinding cost-effective strategies to improve patient care in the emergency department (ED) is an increasing imperative given growing numbers of ED attendees. Encouraging evidence indicates that interdisciplinary teams including health and social care professionals (HSCPs) enhance patient care across a variety of healthcare settings. However, to date no systematic reviews of the effectiveness of early assessment and/or interventions carried by such teams in the ED exist. This systematic review aims to explore the impact of early assessment and/or intervention carried out by interdisciplinary teams including HSCPs in the ED on the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of care, and to define the content of the assessment and/or intervention offered by HSCPs.Methods and analysisUsing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses standardised guidelines, we will conduct a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, controlled before–after studies, interrupted time series and repeated measures studies that report the impact of early assessment and/or intervention provided to adults aged 18+ by interdisciplinary teams including HSCPs in the ED. Searches will be carried in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, Cochrane Library and MEDLINE from inception to March 2018. We will also hand-search the reference lists of relevant studies. Following a two-step screening process, two independent reviewers will extract data on the type of population, intervention, comparison, outcomes and study design. The quality of the studies will be appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. The findings will be synthesised in a narrative summary, and a meta-analysis will be conducted where appropriate.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval will not be sought since it is not required for systematic reviews. The results of this review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-review journal and presented at relevant conferences.Trial registration numberCRD42018091794.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Khan ◽  
Uzair Yaqoob ◽  
Zair Hassan ◽  
Muhammad Muizz Uddin

Abstract Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world and the impact is much worse in Pakistan. The objective here is to describe the epidemiological characteristics of patients with TBI in our country and to determine the immediate outcomes of patients with TBI after the presentation.Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. Data were extracted from the medical records from January 1st to December 31st, 2019. Patient age, sex, type of trauma, and immediate outcome of the referral to the Emergency Department were recorded. The severity of TBI was categorized based on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in mild (GCS 13-15), moderate (GCS 9-12), and severe (GCS <8) classes. The Emergency Department referral profile was classified as admissions, disposed, detained and disposed, referred.Results: Out of 5047 patients, 3689 (73.1%) males and 1358 (26.9%) females. The most commonly affected age group was 0-10 years (25.6%) and 21-30 years (20.1%). Road Traffic accident was the predominant cause of injury (38.8%, n=1960) followed by fall (32.7%, n=1649). Most (93.6%, n=4710) of the TBIs were mild. After the full initial assessment and workup, and completing all first-aid management, the immediate outcome was divided into four, most frequent (67.2%, n=3393) of which was “disposed (discharged)”, and 9.3% (n=470) were admitted for further management.Conclusion: Our study represents a relatively commonplace picture of epidemiological data on the burden of TBI in Pakistan. As a large proportion of patients had a mild TBI, and there is a high risk of mild TBI being under-diagnosed, we warrant further investigation of mild TBI in population-based studies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (30_suppl) ◽  
pp. 104-104
Author(s):  
Priyanka Kapil ◽  
Katherine Enright

104 Background: ASCO's current guidelines for febrile neutropenia (FN) management support antibiotic administration within one hour of presentation to the emergency department (ED). Prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy is vital to decrease the likelihood of adverse outcomes. Many studies, however, have reported significant delays in antibiotic initiation with mean wait times far exceeding ASCO's guidelines. We aimed to assess the quality of FN management at a regional cancer centre ED. Methods: Patients undergoing chemotherapy who visited the ED at the Peel Regional Cancer Center in Ontario, Canada between 04/12 - 03/13 were identified using electronic medical records. Patients were excluded if there was no record of chemotherapy delivery within 30 days prior to ED visit. ICD-10 codes and chart data were used to identify patients who had presented for either fever or infection. The primary outcome measures were three major quality of health indicators; time to assessment by a physician, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) score, and time to initiation of intravenous antibiotics. Results: In total 239 records were included in the analysis. CTAS score was concordant with recommendation for FN (level 1-2) in 85% of patients and did not vary based on primary cancer site (p = 0.17). The mean time to physician assessment was 97.2 min and the mean time to initiation of IV antibiotics was 194.7 min. Overall, 14.6% of patients received their first dose of antibiotic therapy within the recommended 1 hour window. Conclusions: Our audit identified a large margin for improvement in the time to initiation of antibiotic therapy for chemotherapy patients with suspected FN. Prompt recognition and initiation of standardized treatment pathways for FN in the ED may improve the time to initiation of antibiotic therapy. In an attempt to address this gap in quality we have developed and distributed a standardized wallet-sized fever card to all patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy within our regional cancer program. This card contains information pertaining to the current chemotherapy treatment and recommended ED treatment protocols for FN. An evaluation of the impact of these cards is ongoing.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M.E.L. van Dam ◽  
Noortje Zelis ◽  
Patricia M. Stassen ◽  
Daan J.L. van Twist ◽  
Peter W. de Leeuw ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo mitigate the burden of COVID-19 on the healthcare system, information on the prognosis of the disease is needed. The recently developed RISE UP score has very good discriminatory value with respect to short-term mortality in older patients in the emergency department (ED). It consists of six items: age, abnormal vital signs, albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and bilirubin. We hypothesized that the RISE UP score could have discriminatory value with regard to 30-day mortality in ED patients with COVID-19.SettingTwo EDs of the Zuyderland Medical Centre (MC), secondary care hospital in the Netherlands.ParticipantsThe study sample consisted of 642 adult ED patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 3rd until May 25th 2020. Inclusion criteria were: 1) admission to the hospital with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, and 2) positive result of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or (very) high suspicion of COVID-19 according to the chest computed tomography (CT) scan.OutcomePrimary outcome was 30-day mortality, secondary outcome was a composite of 30-day mortality and admission to intensive care unit (ICU).ResultsWithin 30 days after presentation, 167 patients (26.0%) died and 102 patients (15.9%) were admitted to ICU. The RISE UP score showed good discriminatory value with respect to 30-day mortality (AUC 0.77, 95% CI 0.73-0.81), and to the composite outcome (AUC 0.72, 95% CI 0.68-0.76). Patients with RISE UP scores below 10% (121 patients) had favourable outcome (0% mortality and 5% ICU admissions). Patients with a RISE UP score above 30% (221 patients) were at high risk of adverse outcome (46.6% mortality and 19% ICU admissions).ConclusionThe RISE UP score is an accurate prognostic model for adverse outcome in ED patients with COVID-19. It can be used to identify patients at risk of short-term adverse outcome, and may help guiding decision-making and allocating healthcare resources.


CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S36-S37
Author(s):  
L. Carroll ◽  
M. Nemnom ◽  
E. Kwok ◽  
V. Thiruganasambandamoorthy

Introduction: Access block (AB) is the most important indicator of Emergency Department (ED) crowding, but the impact of AB on consultation time has not been described. Our objectives were to determine if ED AB affects inpatient service consultation time, and operational and patient outcomes. Methods: We conducted a health records review of all ED patients referred and admitted at a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital over 60-days. A computational algorithm determined hourly ED AB at the time of consultation request, and observational cohorts were determined based on ED AB high (&gt;35% ED bed capacity occupied by admitted patients) or low (&lt;35%). The outcomes included total consultation time (TCT), ED physician initial assessment (PIA) time, ED length of stay (LOS), transfer time to inpatient bed (TTB), hospital LOS, return to ED (RTED) within 30 days, and 30-day mortality. Results: We included 2,871 patients (48% male; M = 63 years, IQR 45–78), and the low AB cohort were higher acuity (N = 1,692; 50.4% CTAS 1–2) than the high AB cohort (N = 1,179; 47.1% CTAS 1–2). Median TCT was not significantly different (low = 209min, high = 212min; p = 0.09), and there was no difference in consults completed within the 3-hour institutional time target (low = 41.1%, high = 40.9%; p = 0.89). Median ED PIA time was not significantly different (low = 66min, high = 68min; p = 0.08), however, patients seen within the funding-associated provincial ED PIA time target was significantly less during high AB (high = 82.2%, low = 89.2%; p &lt; 0.001). Median ED LOS was significantly longer during high AB (high = 12.1hr, low = 11.1hr; p = 0.009), but median hospital LOS was not different (high = 109.5hr, low = 112.4hr; p = 0.44). Median TTB was significantly longer during high AB (high = 8.0hr, low = 5.9hr; p = 0.0004). There was no difference in RTED visits (high = 12.4%, low = 10.6%; p = 0.15) or 30-day mortality (high = 8.4%, low = 9.2%; p = 0.51). Conclusion: In conclusion, consultation time is not affected by AB. However, boarding admitted patients in the ED impairs our ability to meet funding-associated performance metrics. Reducing boarding time should be an ED and hospital-wide priority, as it negatively impacts funding and delays patient care.


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