LITERATURE REVIEW
An issue affecting many hospital systems is the overcrowding of emergency departments for non-urgent visits. Emergency department overcrowding is one of the most complex issues facing health care today. Indeed, a literature review by Boyle et al. states that emergency department crowding is one of the leading problems facing emergency physicians, nurses, and their patients in most developed countries (Boyle, Beniuk, Higginson & Atkinson, 2012). It is important to remember that in our current system of health care delivery the emergency department not only provides treatment for acute illness and trauma to a varied population, they can also serve as an acute diagnostic center placing further stress on emergency providers.
Multiple studies have sought to describe causal factors related to increase in emergency department volume and subsequent overcrowding. Interestingly, there is no consistent definition of what constitutes overcrowding, In order for policy makers and administrators to make changes to alleviate …show more content…
The review was initiated via electronic healthcare databases, including CINAHL Plus, Medline, McMaster.ca, and Google Scholar. Peer reviewed journal articles and other sources were reviewed to determine their applicability to this study. The search terms used were emergency department overcrowding, throughput, care coordination and medical home. The sources selected were reviewed in their entirety prior to being separated into three common themes.
Factors that Influence use of ED for Non-Urgent Needs Studies of patients with non-urgent care visits reported multiple influences that factor into the decision to utilize emergency departments for non-urgent complaints. The common challenges related to increased utilization included perceived severity of illness, barriers to primary care and advantages of utilizing the emergency department.
Perceived
An issue affecting many hospital systems is the overcrowding of emergency departments for non-urgent visits. Emergency department overcrowding is one of the most complex issues facing health care today. Indeed, a literature review by Boyle et al. states that emergency department crowding is one of the leading problems facing emergency physicians, nurses, and their patients in most developed countries (Boyle, Beniuk, Higginson & Atkinson, 2012). It is important to remember that in our current system of health care delivery the emergency department not only provides treatment for acute illness and trauma to a varied population, they can also serve as an acute diagnostic center placing further stress on emergency providers.
Multiple studies have sought to describe causal factors related to increase in emergency department volume and subsequent overcrowding. Interestingly, there is no consistent definition of what constitutes overcrowding, In order for policy makers and administrators to make changes to alleviate …show more content…
The review was initiated via electronic healthcare databases, including CINAHL Plus, Medline, McMaster.ca, and Google Scholar. Peer reviewed journal articles and other sources were reviewed to determine their applicability to this study. The search terms used were emergency department overcrowding, throughput, care coordination and medical home. The sources selected were reviewed in their entirety prior to being separated into three common themes.
Factors that Influence use of ED for Non-Urgent Needs Studies of patients with non-urgent care visits reported multiple influences that factor into the decision to utilize emergency departments for non-urgent complaints. The common challenges related to increased utilization included perceived severity of illness, barriers to primary care and advantages of utilizing the emergency department.
Perceived