Recent research published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety suggests volumes are the strongest predictor of poor performance in emergency departments.
For the study, researchers retrospectively analyzed emergency department data from the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance in 2009. Data from that year covered 14.6 million emergency department visits in more than 350 hospitals in the United States.
Their analysis showed emergency departments with higher annual volumes typically had longer lengths of stay, higher rates of patients leaving without being seen and longer door-to-physician times. These statistics suggests volumes could be associated with worse operational performance.
For the study, researchers retrospectively analyzed emergency department data from the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance in 2009. Data from that year covered 14.6 million emergency department visits in more than 350 hospitals in the United States.
Their analysis showed emergency departments with higher annual volumes typically had longer lengths of stay, higher rates of patients leaving without being seen and longer door-to-physician times. These statistics suggests volumes could be associated with worse operational performance.
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