A new report from Press Ganey finds the gridlock in emergency departments is caused by the lack of inpatient beds in hospitals, not patients with non urgent medical conditions. Dr. Nick Jouiles, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, agrees that improving patient flow is the key to alleviating dangerous crowding.
"Boarding" is the cause of crowding in emergency departments," said Dr. Jouriles. "It occurs when hospitals hold emergency patients who have been admitted to the hospital from the emergency department. When a patient is boarded, emergency physicians and nurses must continue to monitor that patient, preventing them from attending to new emergencies arriving at the hospital."
According to the new report, wait times in emergency departments declined on average by 2 minutes to 4 hours and 3 minutes in 2008. Dr. Jouriles said that any reduction in ER wait times is good, but it is important to view research in the context of other research.
