Table 1 Time frame definitions in the ED
Administrative time | Treatment time |
|---|---|
Time from patient arrival to doctor evaluation | Time from doctor evaluation to disposition decision |
All patients go through the same process of opening a file and registering on the hospital system in our ED. | After a disposition decision is made, the patient may or may not timeously leave the ED. |
The administrative process can be substantially longer on some days than on other days. This would change the wait-times for the patients prior to them presenting to the doctor and would confound the time measurements overall and therefore impact on the cost analysis. | Exit block may lead to a delay in the patient leaving the ED even if a timeous disposition decision is made. |
Only treatment time was evaluated. | The disposition decision time was utilised. |