Articles: emergency-services.
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To compare the opinions of patients and physicians regarding physician dress and demeanor in the emergency department, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 190 ED patients and 129 medical specialists, family practitioners, surgeons, and emergency physicians in a community hospital. Seventy-three percent of physicians and 43% of patients thought that physical appearance influenced patient opinion of medical care. Forty-nine percent of patients believed emergency physicians should wear white coats, but only 18% disliked scrub suits. ⋯ Most physicians (96%) addressed patients by surname or title, but 43% of patients preferred being called by their first names. The age, gender, income, and education of patients did not influence how they wished to be addressed. Larger studies are needed to assess the influence of age, sex, race, and depth of feeling regarding first-name address and physician attire in the ED.
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We developed a computer simulation model of emergency department operations using simulation software. This model uses multiple levels of preemptive patient priority; assigns each patient to an individual nurse and physician; incorporates all standard tests, procedures, and consultations; and allows patient service processes to proceed simultaneously, sequentially, repetitively, or a combination of these. Selected input data, including the number of physicians, nurses, and treatment beds, and the blood test turnaround time, then were varied systematically to determine their simulated effect on patient throughput time, selected queue sizes, and rates of resource utilization. ⋯ Resource utilization rates varied inversely with resource availability, and patient waiting time and patient throughput time varied indirectly with the level of patient acuity. The simulation can be animated on a computer monitor, showing simulated patients, specimens, and staff members moving throughout the ED. Computer simulation is a potentially useful tool that can help predict the results of changes in the ED system without actually altering it and may have implications for planning, optimizing resources, and improving the efficiency and quality of care.