Can J Emerg Med
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A reliable emergency department (ED) workload measurement tool would provide a method of quantifying clinical productivity for performance evaluation and physician incentive programs; it would enable health administrators to measure ED outputs; and it could provide the basis for an equitable formula to estimate ED physician staffing requirements. Our objectives were to identify predictors that correlate with physician time needed to treat patients and to develop a multivariable model to predict physician workload. ⋯ This study clarifies important determinants of emergency physician workload. If validated in other settings, the predictive formula derived and internally validated here is a potential alternative to current simplistic models based solely on patient volume and perceived acuity. An evidence-based workload estimation tool like that described here could facilitate ED productivity measurement, benchmarking, physician performance evaluation, and provide the substrate for an equitable formula to estimate ED physician staffing requirements.
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Our primary objective was to survey the graduates of one residency program with respect to anticipated versus actual medical practice. ⋯ Most graduates of the UWO CCFP-EM program practise in emergency medicine only positions. Less than 20% are engaged in a blended family/emergency medicine practice. At training onset, one-half of the residents intended to practise emergency medicine exclusively. None of the demographic factors surveyed significantly correlated with intended or actual practice. Further examination of the practice patterns of all emergency medicine residency program graduates is an essential part of future planning for the specialty of Emergency Medicine in Canada.