[Prospective study of waiting time delays in a university hospital emergency department with a physician triage model]

Rev Med Brux. 2013 Sep-Oct;34(5):405-9.
[Article in French]

Abstract

To measure waiting time delays of patients and to evaluate if the waiting time before the first physician contact is inversely correlated to the illness severity. During the period of 26/02/2007 through 3/03/2007, we prospectively studied the waiting times before the first contact with a physician (WTP) and the length of stay (LS) in 473 patients (0.8% of the annual patient volume) evaluated in our emergency department, which has a physician triage model. The WTP was correlated to a severity score "Clinical Classification of Patients in Emergency (CCPE)". The median WTP was: 48 (22-79) min. (minutes) (median, P25, P75). This time was 33 (14-47), 16 (3-28) and 3 (0-3) min. for patients having a CCPE score of 3, 4 and 5. The median LS was 119 (76-186) min. In conclusion, the waiting times are comparable to those measured in similar studies. The waiting time evaluated according to CCPE is adequate.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Hospitals, University / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Physicians*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Time Factors
  • Triage / methods*
  • Triage / statistics & numerical data
  • Waiting Lists*
  • Young Adult