Abstract

VINAS SALAS, Juan; CASALS GARRIGO, Ramón; JIMENEZ VILCHEZ, Ana M.  and  GODOY, Pere. Influence of available resources on medical practitioners' decision-making process and practice: study of a reference hospital emergency department. Gac Sanit [online]. 2007, vol.21, n.2, pp.132-135. ISSN 0213-9111.

Objective: To evaluate variations in the observation period in the emergency department (ED) in response to bed availability. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study without a control group was conducted in the ED observation ward over 2 1-month periods. During this time the only variable that changed was the number of beds available, which decreased from 20 (pre-test period) to 16 (post-test period). Results: The ED attended 7,725 patients: 3,706 patients in pre-test period, 335 of whom were admitted to the observation ward, with an average length of stay of 1,105.4 minutes per patient, and 4,019 patients in post-test period, 570 of whom were admitted to the observation ward, with an average length of stay of 686.1 minutes per patient (p < 0.001). There was no variation in mortality, re-admissions or complaints. Conclusions: A reduction in bed availability for observation purposes shortens patient length of stay.

Keywords : Health care management; Emergencies; Resources; Health care quality.

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