Summary
Performance of an emergency department according to the day of the week and the number of attendances
Sánchez M
Affiliation of the authors
EMERGENCY ASSESSMENT UNIT MEDICAL. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. HOSPITAL CLÍNIC. UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA. BARCELONA. DEPARTMENT OF TRAUMATOLOGY AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE. HARTFORD HOSPITAL. HARTFORD CT AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. FARMINGT
DOI
Quote
Sánchez M. Performance of an emergency department according to the day of the week and the number of attendances. Emergencias. 2007;19:319-22
Summary
Aim: To assess the relationship between the day of the week and
daily census and the quality markers in the emergency department
(ED).
Methods:For a 2-year period, daily measures of census, percentage of
deaths, revisits, patients leaving without being seen (LWBS), waiting time
and length of stay (LOS) were retrospectively obtained and compared
according to the day of the week. Three groups were established:
Mondays, weekend days, and weekdays (control group). The relationship
among groups and among markers was assessed by multiple regression
analysis.
Results: Mondays showed the highest rate of visits (212 ± 18 vs
201 ± 19 for weekend days and 198 ± 19 for control days; p < 0.001). LWBS was 26.8% and 26.8% higher on Mondays (7.14 ± 4.48) compared to weekend days (5.65 ± 3.77) and control days (6.41 ± 4.24) . Waiting time registered a significant increase on Mondays (88 ± 37 min) compared to weekend days (75 ± 38 min, 17.3%) and control days (80 ± 37 min, 10%). A direct association between daily census and percentage of LWBS (r = 0.089) and waiting time (r = 0.106) was found. Conclusions: ED census is directly associated with the waiting time and the LWBS rates which are significantly higher in Mondays. This data may help to resolve several staff and overcrowding troubles in the EDs.