Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Emergency department overcrowding following systematic hospital restructuring: trends at twenty hospitals over ten years.
Hospital restructuring often results in fewer inpatient beds, increased ambulatory services, and closures of hospitals or emergency departments (EDs). The authors sought to determine the impact of systematic hospital restructuring on ED overcrowding. ⋯ Hospital restructuring was associated with increased ED overcrowding, even after controlling for utilization and patient demographics. Restructuring should proceed slowly to allow time for monitoring of its effects and modification of the process, because the impact of incremental reductions in hospital resources may be magnified as maximum operating capacity is approached.
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To assess the impact on the emergency department (ED) of recently discharged inpatients and how they contribute to and worsen the current situation of ED overcrowding. ⋯ The ED is appropriately utilized as a safety net for discharged inpatients. Though "returns" are a small percentage of ED patients, they have longer LOSs, have higher ED charges, and are more frequently admitted. Returns increase the strain on an already overcrowded ED.
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Comparative Study
Effect of an emergency department (ED) managed acute care unit on ED overcrowding and emergency medical services diversion.
To determine the impact of an inpatient, emergency department (ED)-managed acute care unit (ACU) on ED overcrowding and use of ambulance diversion. ⋯ An ED-managed ACU can have significant impact on ED overcrowding and ambulance diversion, and it need not be located proximate to the ED.