A Study for the Efficient Operation System in the Emergency Department of University Hospital

Lee,  In Sook; Oh,  Eun Kyeong; Rhee,  Joong Eui; Youn,  Yeo Kyu

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 10(1); 1999 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 1999;10(1): 34-52.

A Study for the Efficient Operation System in the Emergency Department of University Hospital

In Sook Lee, Eun Kyeong Oh, Joong Eui Rhee, Yeo Kyu Youn

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: One of the problem in emergency room(ER) of university hospital is over-crowdedness that causes exhaustion of medical resources (personnel, device, space) and disturbes optimal treatment.
METHODS:
This is an evaluative research for the purpose of promoting efficient operation system in ER of university hospital.
RESULTS:
1) In 387 visitors, mean age was 47.5 years, and male to female ratio 1.21:1. As the specialty in charge, 28.9%f them were internal medicine, 26.6%mergency medicine, 9.9%eurology, and 8.5%eurosurgery. 24%f visitors have come by ambulances. The patients stayed for average 16.1 hours. The admission rate of ER visitors was 33.4 %60.3 %returned home after some management. 2) The visitors had various causes without correlation between the severity of conditions and the choice of high level hospital ER. They perceived their situations emergent in 78.4% but after triage only 25.6%were classified emergent. 48.6%of the visitors were the patients of out-patient department of this hospital due to chronic diseases. 3) The patients were assessed within 9.5 minutes after arrival at ER by nurse and within 34 minutes by doctor. If they were in need of consultation to second/third department, they waited for 141.5/460 minutes respectively to see the doctor. They waited for 59.9/52.7 minutes to get routine laboratory sampling/radiologic examination respectively. 4) Every 2.3 new patients visited this ER per hour. Average 63.2 patients were taken over to next shirt of nurse duty, and 60%of them had chronic degenerative diseases.
CONCLUSION:
The causes of overcrowding in ER of the university hospital were (1) huge number of patients at out-patient department of the hospital, (2) shortage of beds compared to the number of patients waiting admission, (3) too many kinds of procedures performed in ER, (4) cooperation failure among doctors of different specialty, and (5) no definite criteria of admission/discharge into/from ER. To solve these problems, conversion of ER management policy from complete examination and treatment to more simple and rapid one is necessary.