BACKGROUND: Length of stay of patients in the Emergency Department (ED) is a quality indicator for ED performance. Prolonged stay risks patient safety and reduces their satisfaction. The presence of a senior physician in triage allows rapid assessment of patients and shortens the overall length of stay of patients. The objectives of this study were first, to determine the mean length of stay of patients in the emergency department and secondly, to compare the mean length of stay of patients seen in nurse-led triage as compared to physician-led triage.
METHODS: This descriptive case series was conducted in the emergency department of Shifa International Hospital Islamabad from July 2017 to December 2017. The existing functioning of the department was such that rapid assessment by a senior physician in triage was done from 08:00 am to 11:59 pm. After 12:00 am till 08:00 am, the triage was done by the nurse only. This di erence was used to collect two data sets by consecutive non-probability sampling.
RESULTS: A total of 500 patients were enrolled; 250 in each group. The mean age of patients was 44.50(±18.055) years. The mean length of stay was 102.11 ± 110.049 minutes. It showed a signi cant decrease of 103.31 minutes (p=0.000) from 153.76(±114.539) minutes in the nurse triage group compared to 50.45(±76.116) minutes in the physician triage group.
CONCLUSION: The presence of a senior physician in triage can shorten the length of stay of patients in emergency department.
Key words: Emergency department; Physician; Length of stay; Triage; Emergency Severity Index
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