Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment
Introduction. Many Emergency Departments (ED) publish wait times; however, the patient perspective in what information is requested and the quantity of information to post is limited. Methods. We conducted a mixed-methods study at a tertiary care academic center. First, we conducted focus groups of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Emergency Medicine International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8883933 |
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| author | Samantha Calder-Sprackman Edmund S. H. Kwok Renee Bradley Jeffrey Landreville Jeffrey J. Perry Lisa A. Calder |
| author_facet | Samantha Calder-Sprackman Edmund S. H. Kwok Renee Bradley Jeffrey Landreville Jeffrey J. Perry Lisa A. Calder |
| author_sort | Samantha Calder-Sprackman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction. Many Emergency Departments (ED) publish wait times; however, the patient perspective in what information is requested and the quantity of information to post is limited. Methods. We conducted a mixed-methods study at a tertiary care academic center. First, we conducted focus groups of 7 patients. We then generated themes following content analysis to create a patient survey. We administered in-person surveys to patients in ED waiting rooms at sites randomized for survey administration. We used preassigned shifts utilized for even patient perspective representation of the 24 hours-a-day/7 days-a-week service. We included waiting room patients over 18 years of age and excluded patients directly referred to a specialty service or who did not speak French or English. We analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics. Results. We identified nine dominant focus group themes: wait time definition, wait time notification, communication, education, patient expectations, utilization of the ED, patient behaviour, physical comfort, and patient empowerment. Of the 240 patient questionnaires administered, 81.3% of respondents wanted to know ED wait times before hospital arrival hospital and 90.8% wanted ED wait times posted in the waiting room. Website (46.7%) was the most popular choice for publishing wait times outside the ED. Within the ED, patients had no preference regarding display modality, if times were displayed (39.6%). Overall, 76.7% stated that their satisfaction with the ED would be improved if wait times were posted. Conclusion. ED patients strongly supported having access to wait time information. Patients believed having wait time information will have a positive impact on their overall ED satisfaction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-57d546968b6842a081379986bda25544 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-2840 2090-2859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emergency Medicine International |
| spelling | doaj-art-57d546968b6842a081379986bda255442025-02-03T01:20:10ZengWileyEmergency Medicine International2090-28402090-28592021-01-01202110.1155/2021/88839338883933Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs AssessmentSamantha Calder-Sprackman0Edmund S. H. Kwok1Renee Bradley2Jeffrey Landreville3Jeffrey J. Perry4Lisa A. Calder5Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaIntroduction. Many Emergency Departments (ED) publish wait times; however, the patient perspective in what information is requested and the quantity of information to post is limited. Methods. We conducted a mixed-methods study at a tertiary care academic center. First, we conducted focus groups of 7 patients. We then generated themes following content analysis to create a patient survey. We administered in-person surveys to patients in ED waiting rooms at sites randomized for survey administration. We used preassigned shifts utilized for even patient perspective representation of the 24 hours-a-day/7 days-a-week service. We included waiting room patients over 18 years of age and excluded patients directly referred to a specialty service or who did not speak French or English. We analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics. Results. We identified nine dominant focus group themes: wait time definition, wait time notification, communication, education, patient expectations, utilization of the ED, patient behaviour, physical comfort, and patient empowerment. Of the 240 patient questionnaires administered, 81.3% of respondents wanted to know ED wait times before hospital arrival hospital and 90.8% wanted ED wait times posted in the waiting room. Website (46.7%) was the most popular choice for publishing wait times outside the ED. Within the ED, patients had no preference regarding display modality, if times were displayed (39.6%). Overall, 76.7% stated that their satisfaction with the ED would be improved if wait times were posted. Conclusion. ED patients strongly supported having access to wait time information. Patients believed having wait time information will have a positive impact on their overall ED satisfaction.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8883933 |
| spellingShingle | Samantha Calder-Sprackman Edmund S. H. Kwok Renee Bradley Jeffrey Landreville Jeffrey J. Perry Lisa A. Calder Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment Emergency Medicine International |
| title | Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment |
| title_full | Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment |
| title_fullStr | Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment |
| title_short | Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment |
| title_sort | availability of emergency department wait times information a patient centered needs assessment |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8883933 |
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