A New Model in Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: The Electronic Blockage System

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Emergency Medicine
• Hospital Operations

Background:

• Emergency department (ED) crowding is a global healthcare challenge.
• Effective crowding scoring systems are crucial for identifying and mitigating ED overcrowding.
• Hospitals require innovative solutions to manage patient flow and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel Electronic Blockage System (EBS) in reducing emergency department crowding.
• To assess the impact of EBS on patient admission times and hospital bed utilization.
• To determine if EBS can serve as a triage system to prioritize emergency patients.

Main Methods:

• Developed and implemented an Electronic Blockage System (EBS) integrated with the Hospital Information System.
• Prioritized hospital bed allocation for ED patients awaiting admission.
• Blocked non-urgent admissions to other departments when ED patients were awaiting beds.
• Measured ED crowding using the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Study (NEDOCS) scoring system over three periods: pre-EBS, early post-EBS, and late post-EBS.

Main Results:

• NEDOCS scores were significantly lower in the early post-EBS period compared to pre-EBS and late post-EBS periods (p≤0.0001).
• The number of patients awaiting admission in the ED significantly decreased in the early post-EBS period (p=0.0001, p=0.001).
• Outpatient numbers and existing patient numbers at the time of measurement remained consistent across all periods.

Conclusions:

• The Electronic Blockage System (EBS) functions as an effective triage system to prevent ED crowding.
• EBS successfully prioritizes emergency patients over polyclinic patients for admission.
• Hospitals with limited bed capacity can utilize EBS to reduce ED crowding and expedite patient admissions.