297. Improving emergency department operations: the role of patient prioritization by clinical complexity
Contributed abstract in session HC-5: Emergency Department /2, stream Regular talks.
Thursday, 14:00-15:30Room: Room S6
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Mattia Cattaneo
|
| Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo |
Abstract
Traditional triage processes in emergency departments (EDs) typically rely on the assessment of discrete levels of severity. However, severity is a composed of two primary factors, namely acuity and clinical complexity. While the former is well represented by discrete levels, representing the urgency of a timely intervention, the latter is often overlooked despite its significant impact on ED resource utilization. This study investigates the potential benefits of employing separate indicators for clinical complexity and acuity. Drawing on a 10-year dataset of 1.4 million ED accesses to a large multi-hospital network located in Northern Italy, we first conduct a confirmatory factor analysis on triage data to estimate these two distinct components. Next, we develop a model grounded on these two factors to analyze their effects on ED resource consumption. Finally, we compare traditional and model-derived evaluations and performances for simulated ED operations, employing prioritization based on continuous
complexity scores within each ESI level. The findings demonstrate that incorporating clinical complexity into prioritization decisions within the same ESI level leads to efficiency improvements in queue and resource management, measured in terms of average patient waiting time and hospitalization rates.
Keywords
- Emergency Department
- Decision support
Status: accepted
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