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KMID : 0387320090190030027
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Korean Journal of Health Policy and Administration
2009 Volume.19 No. 3 p.27 ~ p.44
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Patient characteristics associated with length of stay in emergency departments
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Chung Seol-Hee
Hwang Jae-Sam
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Abstract
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The length of stay in emergency departments has been used as a quality indicator to reflect the overall efficiency of emergency care. Identifying characteristics associated with length of stay is critical to monitor overcrowding and improve efficient throughput function of emergency departments. This study examined the level of waiting time for initial assessment by physician and length of stay in emergency departments. Furthermore, we investigated the characteristics of patients’ attendance associated with length of stay. An observational study was performed for a sample of 1,526 patients visiting ten nation-wide emergency departments. A structured form was designed to collect information about patients’ demographics, route of admission, time and mode of arrival, triage level, cause of attendance, initial assessment time by physician, departure time, and disposition. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with length of stay. The average length of stay was 209.4 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI]=197.1-221.7), with a mean waiting time for initial assessment of 5.9 minutes (95% CI=5.1-6.7). After controlling for emergency department characteristics, increasing age, longer waiting times, attendance due to diseases, higher acuity, multiple diagnoses(≥2) and requiring admission or transfer to other health care facilities were positively associated with length of stay in emergency departments. The findings suggest that both patients’ characteristics and the flow between emergency departments and parent hospitals should be taken into account in predicting length of stay in emergency departments.
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KEYWORD
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Emergency department, length of stay, patient characteristics, waiting time
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