279. Investigating the effects of increased patient severity stratification on Emergency Department performance
Contributed abstract in session FA-5: Emergency Department /3, stream Regular talks.
Friday, 9:20-10:30Room: Room S6
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Chiara Morlotti
|
| Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo | |
| 2. | ELISA ALESSIO
|
| 3. | Mattia Cattaneo
|
| Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo |
Abstract
A recent variation in the Italian emergency department triage coding system aimed to enhance differentiation among patients' urgency by raising the number of Emergency Severity Index levels from 4 to 5. This study investigates the impact of such intervention on emergency department performance within a multi-hospital network in northern Italy. Relying on a two-period dataset spanning one year before and one year after the intervention—which includes all visits to the emergency department across four distinct facilities—we employ time series models to analyze changes in daily average waiting times while controlling for emergency department size and patient characteristics. Results reveal that the intervention leads to an initial decline in emergency department performance. However, over time, a significant reduction in mean waiting times is observed, accompanied by an increase in the proportion of patients receiving timely care. Interestingly, the effects varied among the facilities, with more pronounced improvements observed in facilities that initially had a lower level of efficiency.
Keywords
- Emergency Department
- Performance evaluation
- Healthcare management
Status: accepted
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