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Article: Containing costs in the ED: tired of high costs associated with slow patient throughput in the ED? Find out what several hospitals have done to improve their patient flow and optimize department performance.(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Healthcare Financial Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A Shakespearean actor slips on stage one night and breaks his wrist. He is rushed to the closest hospital, where he waits his turn in the crowded emergency department. As the charge nurse walks by and casts a disapproving eye at the ever-increasing backlog, she sees him dressed in his 16th century garb and does a double take. "Just how long have YOU been waiting?"
It's an old joke, but it does call to mind an experience that's all too common--patient and staff frustration with long waits in the ED.
Long wait times have become standard at many hospital EDs as increased demand forces staff to make the best with limited resources. From 1992 to 2002, the ...