Emergency department boarding: a descriptive analysis and measurement of impact on outcomes

Abstract

CLINICIAN’S CAPSULEWhat is known about the topic?Bed boarding is one of the major contributors to emergency department overcrowding.What did this study ask?What are the characteristics of patients with prolonged boarding times, and what are the impacts on patient-oriented outcomes?What did this study find?Patients who were older, sicker, and had isolation and telemetry requirements experienced longer boarding times, and longer inpatient length of stay even after correcting for confounders.Why does this study matter to clinicians?Organization-wide interventions to improve efficiency and flow are required to mitigate the burden of bed boarding.