George Washington University Medical Center, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy, Washington, DC.
West J Emerg Med. 2013 Feb;14(1):1-10. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2011.5.6700.
The state of emergency department (ED) crowding in Pennsylvania has not previously been reported.
We assessed perceptions of ED crowding by surveying medical directors/chairs from Pennsylvania EDs in the spring of 2008.
A total of 106 completed the questionnaire (68% response rate). A total of 83% (86/104) agreed that ED crowding was a problem; 26% (27/105) reported that at least half of admitted patients boarded for more than 4 hours. Ninety-eight percent (102/104) agreed that patient satisfaction suffers during crowding and 79% (84/106) stated that quality suffers. Sixty-five percent (68/105) reported that crowding had worsened during the past 2 years. Several hospital interventions were used to alleviate crowding: expediting discharges, 81% (86/106); prioritizing ED patients for inpatient beds, 79% (84/106); and ambulance diversion, 55% (57/105). Almost all respondents who had improved ED operations reported that it had reduced crowding.
ED crowding is a common problem in Pennsylvania and is worsening in the majority of hospitals, despite the implementation of a variety of interventions.
宾夕法尼亚州急诊部（ED）拥堵状况此前尚未报道过。
我们在 2008 年春季对宾夕法尼亚州 ED 的医疗主任/主席进行了调查，以评估他们对 ED 拥堵的看法。
共有 106 人完成了问卷（68%的回应率）。83%（86/104）的人同意 ED 拥堵是一个问题；26%（27/105）的人报告说，至少一半的住院病人滞留超过 4 小时。98%（102/104）的人同意在拥堵期间患者满意度会受到影响，79%（84/106）的人表示质量会受到影响。65%（68/105）的人报告说，在过去 2 年中，拥堵情况有所恶化。为了缓解拥堵，医院采取了几种干预措施：加快出院速度，81%（86/106）；优先为住院病人安排床位，79%（84/106）；以及分流救护车，55%（57/105）。几乎所有报告 ED 运营改善的受访者都表示，这减少了拥堵。
尽管实施了各种干预措施，但 ED 拥堵仍是宾夕法尼亚州的一个普遍问题，而且在大多数医院都在恶化。
