Background: The centers of disease control and prevention define a non-urgent Emergency Department (NU-ED) visit as a medical condition requiring treatment within more than 24 hours. These visits constitute one of the...Background: The centers of disease control and prevention define a non-urgent Emergency Department (NU-ED) visit as a medical condition requiring treatment within more than 24 hours. These visits constitute one of the main reasons for emergency department (ED) overcrowding, which greatly affects healthcare workers’ wellbeing, health costs, patients’ satisfaction and treatment outcomes. Currently, there is no solid definition of non-urgent emergency visits, which is the first step towards dealing and potentially solving this issue. Having that, the aim of the current study is to define and validate the criteria for NU-ED visits in Israel. Methods: This qualitative study included twelve senior physicians and nurses working in Emergency Department and/or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) across Israel. The study was performed using in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Qualitative data analysis was performed by conventional content analysis. Results: The urgency of medical visits was defined based on these two questions: 1) Does the medical condition require an immediate treatment? 2) Is the emergency department the only place that can provide the required treatment at a certain timepoint? We found that non-urgent visits mostly occur during the nights and weekends, when medical treatments are not available in the HMOs. Visitors for non-urgent cases mostly complained about minor injuries or chronic conditions, fever, abdominal or chest pain. Most visits occurred based on referral from the family physician or the nurse from the call center. Participants reported a lack of awareness and knowledge about the roles of the EDs and the available options in the HMOs, which seem unable to provide patients with appropriate treatments. The usage of triage scales seems to ensure that patients are being treated based on the clinical urgency of their condition. Medical cases that score above 3 can be defined as non-urgent visits. Therefore, implementation of these scales in the community and their use in decision making of referrals to emergency department might greatly reduce non-urgent visits. Conclusions: Participants defined urgent ED visits as medical situations that need to be treated immediately, while there are no available treatment options in the HMOs. Participants identified many reasons behind NU referrals to the ED, mainly, low awareness about the role of ED, low availability of certain tests in the HMOs, and inability to provide adequate treatment in the community.展开更多
BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal complaints, especially non-traumatic neck and back pain, are routinely encountered in the emergency department(ED) and lead to ED overcrowding, a burgeoning wait time for physiotherapy and ...BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal complaints, especially non-traumatic neck and back pain, are routinely encountered in the emergency department(ED) and lead to ED overcrowding, a burgeoning wait time for physiotherapy and outpatient orthopedic reviews. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of early physiotherapy evaluation and treatment(EPET) vs. standard care(SC) on clinical outcomes for patients presenting to the ED with non-traumatic neck and back pain.METHODS: A retrospective observational study of 125 patients who presented to the ED with non-traumatic neck and back pain with/without peripheral symptoms from July 2010 to February 2011. Neck Disability Index(NDI), Modifi ed Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire(MODI) and 11-point Numeric Pain Rating Scale were used as outcome measures and compared between groups at a mean of 34 days from their initial ED visit.RESULTS: We identifi ed a total of 125 patients. EPET group comprised 62 patients(mean age, 45 years; men, 63%) and SC group comprised 63 patients(mean age, 45 years; men, 43%). The EPET and SC groups received physiotherapy at a median of 4 and 34 days respectively from their fi rst ED visit. EPET patients had signifi cantly lower levels of disability(9.0% vs. 33.4%, Welch t-test, P<0.001) and pain(median value, 1 vs. 4 points, Mann-Whitney U-test, P<0.001) compared with SC patients.CONCLUSION: Early access to physiotherapy in ED was associated with reduced pain and disability levels. EPET protocol can potentially decrease the demand on outpatient orthopedic services, thereby freeing up available resources to treat patients who are more likely to benefi t from it.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the treatment priority given to selfharmers presenting to a hospital emergency department(ED) in Queensland, Australia, over the period 2005-2010. METHODS: The main outcome measure of this study wa...AIM: To investigate the treatment priority given to selfharmers presenting to a hospital emergency department(ED) in Queensland, Australia, over the period 2005-2010. METHODS: The main outcome measure of this study was the treatment priority given to persons presenting with suicide ideation and communication(SIC) or self-harming behaviour. Treatment priority was measured using the Australasian Triage Scale, which ranks patients from 1(in need of immediate treatment) to 5(assessment and treatment to start within 120 min). Ordered logistic regression was used to assess the broad demographic and treatment-related factors associated with more urgent triage categories and to in-vestigate which methods of non-fatal suicidal behaviour(NFSB) were prioritised as most urgent.RESULTS: Most cases of NFSB were between 15 and 34 years. A larger proportion of persons presenting for SIC were aged 35 to 44 years. Over 50% of male presentations and 38% of female presentations were for SIC. Those cases prioritised as being more urgent had significantly greater odds of being older, presented after an act of self-harm rather than SIC, and had used multiple methods of NFSB. These individuals also had greater odds of being male and having made past presentations for SIC or NFSB. Among males, those presenting after ingestion of drugs had the greatest odds of receiving immediate attention compared to SIC. "Cutters" were considered as the least "urgent" subjects, and had a greatest risk of waiting 60 to 120 min for treatment compared to suicide ideators. Among females, those presenting with chemicals, poisons and gases had the greatest odds of receiving immediate attention compared to SIC. Females who presenting after cutting themselves had lower odds of receiving immediate treatment than those who presented with SIC. CONCLUSION: ED staff seems to judge the urgency of cases based on demographic factors such as age and gender, as well as method of NFSB.展开更多
目的探究非急诊全面预约就诊在门诊流程管理中的效果和意义。方法采用对比分析法,调取某医院医院信息系统(hospital information system,HIS系统)中非急诊全预约就诊前(2019年5—12月)和全预约后(2020年5—12月)相关数据,采用Mann-Whitn...目的探究非急诊全面预约就诊在门诊流程管理中的效果和意义。方法采用对比分析法,调取某医院医院信息系统(hospital information system,HIS系统)中非急诊全预约就诊前(2019年5—12月)和全预约后(2020年5—12月)相关数据,采用Mann-Whitney U非参数检验、两个独立样本t检验和χ^(2)检验统计学方法进行对比分析。结果2020年5—12月对比2019年同期,门诊诊疗人次小幅下降,降幅2.3%;预约就诊率增高至81.7%,增幅达到263.0%;门诊患者平均候诊时间减少7.34 min,P<0.01;专家门诊停诊人次均值减少69人次,P<0.01;患者更倾向使用微信、自助机等先进便捷的预约方式;门诊患者满意度对比,满意度上升5个百分点(χ^(2)=77.250,P<0.01)。结论非急诊全面预约就诊依托信息化手段优化就诊流程,引导患者由随意就诊转向预约诊疗、有序就诊,在门诊流程管理中达到预期效果。展开更多
文摘Background: The centers of disease control and prevention define a non-urgent Emergency Department (NU-ED) visit as a medical condition requiring treatment within more than 24 hours. These visits constitute one of the main reasons for emergency department (ED) overcrowding, which greatly affects healthcare workers’ wellbeing, health costs, patients’ satisfaction and treatment outcomes. Currently, there is no solid definition of non-urgent emergency visits, which is the first step towards dealing and potentially solving this issue. Having that, the aim of the current study is to define and validate the criteria for NU-ED visits in Israel. Methods: This qualitative study included twelve senior physicians and nurses working in Emergency Department and/or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) across Israel. The study was performed using in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Qualitative data analysis was performed by conventional content analysis. Results: The urgency of medical visits was defined based on these two questions: 1) Does the medical condition require an immediate treatment? 2) Is the emergency department the only place that can provide the required treatment at a certain timepoint? We found that non-urgent visits mostly occur during the nights and weekends, when medical treatments are not available in the HMOs. Visitors for non-urgent cases mostly complained about minor injuries or chronic conditions, fever, abdominal or chest pain. Most visits occurred based on referral from the family physician or the nurse from the call center. Participants reported a lack of awareness and knowledge about the roles of the EDs and the available options in the HMOs, which seem unable to provide patients with appropriate treatments. The usage of triage scales seems to ensure that patients are being treated based on the clinical urgency of their condition. Medical cases that score above 3 can be defined as non-urgent visits. Therefore, implementation of these scales in the community and their use in decision making of referrals to emergency department might greatly reduce non-urgent visits. Conclusions: Participants defined urgent ED visits as medical situations that need to be treated immediately, while there are no available treatment options in the HMOs. Participants identified many reasons behind NU referrals to the ED, mainly, low awareness about the role of ED, low availability of certain tests in the HMOs, and inability to provide adequate treatment in the community.
文摘BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal complaints, especially non-traumatic neck and back pain, are routinely encountered in the emergency department(ED) and lead to ED overcrowding, a burgeoning wait time for physiotherapy and outpatient orthopedic reviews. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of early physiotherapy evaluation and treatment(EPET) vs. standard care(SC) on clinical outcomes for patients presenting to the ED with non-traumatic neck and back pain.METHODS: A retrospective observational study of 125 patients who presented to the ED with non-traumatic neck and back pain with/without peripheral symptoms from July 2010 to February 2011. Neck Disability Index(NDI), Modifi ed Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire(MODI) and 11-point Numeric Pain Rating Scale were used as outcome measures and compared between groups at a mean of 34 days from their initial ED visit.RESULTS: We identifi ed a total of 125 patients. EPET group comprised 62 patients(mean age, 45 years; men, 63%) and SC group comprised 63 patients(mean age, 45 years; men, 43%). The EPET and SC groups received physiotherapy at a median of 4 and 34 days respectively from their fi rst ED visit. EPET patients had signifi cantly lower levels of disability(9.0% vs. 33.4%, Welch t-test, P<0.001) and pain(median value, 1 vs. 4 points, Mann-Whitney U-test, P<0.001) compared with SC patients.CONCLUSION: Early access to physiotherapy in ED was associated with reduced pain and disability levels. EPET protocol can potentially decrease the demand on outpatient orthopedic services, thereby freeing up available resources to treat patients who are more likely to benefi t from it.
文摘AIM: To investigate the treatment priority given to selfharmers presenting to a hospital emergency department(ED) in Queensland, Australia, over the period 2005-2010. METHODS: The main outcome measure of this study was the treatment priority given to persons presenting with suicide ideation and communication(SIC) or self-harming behaviour. Treatment priority was measured using the Australasian Triage Scale, which ranks patients from 1(in need of immediate treatment) to 5(assessment and treatment to start within 120 min). Ordered logistic regression was used to assess the broad demographic and treatment-related factors associated with more urgent triage categories and to in-vestigate which methods of non-fatal suicidal behaviour(NFSB) were prioritised as most urgent.RESULTS: Most cases of NFSB were between 15 and 34 years. A larger proportion of persons presenting for SIC were aged 35 to 44 years. Over 50% of male presentations and 38% of female presentations were for SIC. Those cases prioritised as being more urgent had significantly greater odds of being older, presented after an act of self-harm rather than SIC, and had used multiple methods of NFSB. These individuals also had greater odds of being male and having made past presentations for SIC or NFSB. Among males, those presenting after ingestion of drugs had the greatest odds of receiving immediate attention compared to SIC. "Cutters" were considered as the least "urgent" subjects, and had a greatest risk of waiting 60 to 120 min for treatment compared to suicide ideators. Among females, those presenting with chemicals, poisons and gases had the greatest odds of receiving immediate attention compared to SIC. Females who presenting after cutting themselves had lower odds of receiving immediate treatment than those who presented with SIC. CONCLUSION: ED staff seems to judge the urgency of cases based on demographic factors such as age and gender, as well as method of NFSB.
文摘目的探究非急诊全面预约就诊在门诊流程管理中的效果和意义。方法采用对比分析法,调取某医院医院信息系统(hospital information system,HIS系统)中非急诊全预约就诊前(2019年5—12月)和全预约后(2020年5—12月)相关数据,采用Mann-Whitney U非参数检验、两个独立样本t检验和χ^(2)检验统计学方法进行对比分析。结果2020年5—12月对比2019年同期,门诊诊疗人次小幅下降,降幅2.3%;预约就诊率增高至81.7%,增幅达到263.0%;门诊患者平均候诊时间减少7.34 min,P<0.01;专家门诊停诊人次均值减少69人次,P<0.01;患者更倾向使用微信、自助机等先进便捷的预约方式;门诊患者满意度对比,满意度上升5个百分点(χ^(2)=77.250,P<0.01)。结论非急诊全面预约就诊依托信息化手段优化就诊流程,引导患者由随意就诊转向预约诊疗、有序就诊,在门诊流程管理中达到预期效果。
