Overcrowding In Emergency Department

Abstract

With the increase in the ED crowd, the satisfaction of the ED employees decreases and it leads to burnout in the ED health workers. At the same time, the waiting time of patients for examination increases, the quality of health care provided to patients decreases, which reduces patient satisfaction. In addition, as the crowd increases, there are delays in the medical treatment of patients. ED crowding is one of the main causes of many negative outcomes, especially the increase in mortality and the emergence of legal consequences.

Keywords

• Emergency Department
• Emergency medicine

References

1. Eroglu SE, Toprak SN, Urgan O, et al. Evaluation of non-urgent visits to a busy urban emergency department. Saudi Med J. 2012 Sep;33(9):967-72.
2. Jung HM, Kim MJ, Kim JH, et al. The effect of overcrowding in emergency departments on the admission rate according to the emergency triage level. PLoS One. 2021;16(2):e0247042.
3. Mason S, Knowles E, Boyle A. Exit block in emergency departments: a rapid evidence review. Emerg Med J EMJ. 2017;34(1):46-51.
4. Khare RK, Powell ES, Reinhardt G, et al. Adding more beds to the emergency department or reducing admitted patient boarding times: which has a more significant influence on emergency department congestion? Ann Emerg Med. 2009;53(5):575-85.
5. Derlet RW, Richards JR. Overcrowding in the nation’s emergency departments: complex causes and disturbing effects. Ann Emerg Med. 2000;35(1):63-8.
6. Cremonesi P, di Bella E, Montefiori M, et al. The Robustness and Effectiveness of the Triage System at Times of Overcrowding and the Extra Costs due to Inappropriate Use of Emergency Departments. Appl Health Econ Health Policy. 2015;13(5):507-14.
7. Weiss SJ, Ernst AA, Derlet R, et al. Relationship between the National ED Overcrowding Scale and the number of patients who leave without being seen in an academic ED. Am J Emerg Med. 2005;23(3):288-94.
8. Cooney DR, Wojcik S, Seth N, et al. Evaluation of ambulance offload delay at a university hospital emergency department. Int J Emerg Med. 2013;6(1):15.

9. Bayley MD, Schwartz JS, Shofer FS, et al. The financial burden of emergency department congestion and hospital crowding for chest pain patients awaiting admission. Ann Emerg Med. 2005;45(2):110-7.
10. Özdemir S, Algın A. How will the Health Literacy and Crowded Emergency Room Be Affected After the COVID-19 Pandemic?. Phnx Med J. 2021; 3(1): 50.