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OBJECTIVES
A. Identify
strategies for improving patient flow in the Emergency Department.
B. Define and discuss the factors underlying Emergency Department utilization
and overcrowding.
OUTLINE
Article #1: Utilization and Overcrowding of Hospital
Emergency Departments
I.
Introduction
II. What Happened to ED Utilization?
III. The Implications of ED Overcrowding
IV. The Factors Underlying ED Utilization and Overcrowding
We identify
5 major sources of ED overcrowding and discuss each of them.
1. Increased
demand for ED services
2. Reduced supply of ED services
3. Increased demand for inpatient beds and services
4. Reduced supply of inpatient beds and services
5. Operational constraints and other factors that reduce patient
throughput
Addendum:
Major Policy Issues
1.
Is ED overcrowding an early warning sign that we need to increase
inpatient capacity?
2. Is ED overcrowding a symptom of insufficient primary care services?
3. Is the rise in ED demand an indication that ED services are overutilized,
and would reducing the demand reduce the cost without deterring necessary
ED use?
4. Is ED overcrowding an indication that we should re-think the
way hospital EDs are organized and structured?
Article #2: Bursting at the Seams: Improving Patient
Flow to Help America’s Emergency Departments
A. Introduction
B. Critical Success Factors
C. Building a Framework for Change
D. Strategies for Improving Patient Flow
E. Selected Success Stories
F. Conclusions
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