ED REACT could reduce number of ED patients leaving untreated
ED REACT (Emergency Department Rapid Entry and Accelerated Care at Triage), a program of the American College of Emergency Physicians, could significantly decrease the number of patients who leave hospital emergency departments without being treated, despite an increasing volume of patients seeking care, according to a study published on-line by Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The Government Accountability Office says that as many as 7% of emergency departments nationally have "leave without being seen" rates higher than 5%, with some EDs reporting rates as high as 15%.
Holes in the net
"Patients who leave emergency departments before being seen by a physician represent a failure in the health care 'safety net' and hinders the nation's ability to meet its Healthy People 2010 objective to reduce the number of people who have difficulty getting emergency care," says study lead author Theodore Chan, with the San Diego Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine. "Our study indicates that emergency departments can take steps to reduce the number of people who leave before receiving care."
ED REACT streamlines the registration process, improves triage efficiency, and begins tests and interventions on patients before they are placed in emergency department beds. As a result of the program, Chan wrote, an urban emergency department was able to reduce the frequency of patients who left without being seen by almost 50%.
Less waiting
Researchers attributed the decrease to the program's ability to decrease patient wait times for care by 24 minutes and patients' average length of stay in the emergency department by 31 minutes.
"While there have been many efforts to reduce the number of patients who leave an emergency department without being seen by a physician, our program differs significantly because we focused on patients with acute or urgent medical conditions, while others have focused primarily on patients with nonurgent conditions," according to Chan. "We focused on those with urgent medical conditions because research has shown these patients are most likely to leave and most likely to return to the emergency department later and in worse condition."
The Government Accountability Office says that as many as 7% of emergency departments nationally have "leave without being seen" rates higher than 5%, with some EDs reporting rates as high as 15%.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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