PubMed · 12658246
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Brent R Asplin. 2003. Does ambulance diversion matter?. https://doi.org/10.1067/mem.2003.112
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The era of global terrorism and asymmetric warfare heralded by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States have blurred the traditional lines between civilian and military trauma. The lessons learned by physicians in the theaters of war, particularly regarding the response to mass casualties, blast and fragmentation injuries, and resuscitation of casualties in austere environments, likely resonate strongly with civilian trauma surgeons in the current era. The evolution of a streamlined trauma system in the theaters of operations, the introduction of an in-theater institution review board process, and dedicated personnel to collect combat casualty data have resulted in improved data capture and realtime, on-the-scene research.
OBJECTIVES: Admission process delays and other throughput inefficiencies are a leading cause of emergency department (ED) overcrowding, ambulance diversion, and patient elopements. Hospital capacity constraints reduce the number of treatment beds available to provide revenue-generating patient services. The objective of this study was to develop a practical method for quantifying the revenues that are potentially lost as a result of patient elopements and ambulance diversion. METHODS: Historical data from 62,588 patient visits to the ED of a 450-bed nonprofit community teaching hospital in central Pennsylvania between July 2004 and June 2005 were used to estimate the value of potential patient visits foregone as a result of ambulance diversion and patients leaving the ED without treatment. RESULTS: The study hospital may have lost 3,881,506 dollars in net revenue as a result of ambulance diversions and patient elopements from the ED during a 12-month period. CONCLUSIONS: Significant revenue may be foregone as a result of throughput delays that prevent the ED from utilizing its existing bed capacity for additional patient visits.