No Surprise: Emergency Department Crowding Leads to Lower Quality of Care

A systematic review found three measures have been most frequently linked to quality: waiting room volume, ED occupancy, and number of ED boarders.

A number of studies have linked specific emergency department (ED) crowding measures to lower quality of care (NEJM JW Emerg Med Dec 2014 and Acad Emerg Med 2014; 21:1116; NEJM JW Emerg Med Feb 2009 and Acad Emerg Med 2008; 15:1248). However, although myriad measures exist, there is no consensus on which might be universally used, consistently accurate, and easily gathered from existing sources. These authors performed a systematic review of the literature to identify measures that have been most frequently linked to quantifiable effects on care quality.

A total of 32 articles that provided data on 15 crowding measures were included. The three most frequently studied measures — number of patients in the waiting room, ED occupancy (percentage…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

No Surprise: Emergency Department Crowding Leads to Lower Quality of Care

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Reviewing Author