Triage Liaison Physician - Evaluation of a Novel Approach to Address Emergency Department Overcrowding

Sponsor

University of Alberta (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT00435890

Collaborator

(none)

5,718

Enrollment

Location

Arm

Duration (Months)

956.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This randomized controlled trial will introduce a triage liaison physician (TLP) into the University of Alberta Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and assess the influence on patients who leave without being seen, ED length of stay, and other ED Overcrowding outcomes.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Acute Illness	Behavioral: Triage Liaison Physician	Phase 4

Detailed Description

ED Overcrowding is a significant cause of delayed care, patient dissatisfaction, and poor outcomes in North American EDs. This intervention has not been widely studied; however, it represents an opportunity for improving patient flows in EDs.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

5718 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Health Services Research

Official Title:

Randomized Controlled Trial of a Liaison Physician at the Triage Desk to Reduce Emergency Department Overcrowding and Improve Patient Flow.

Study Start Date :

Dec 1, 2005

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Feb 1, 2006

Actual Study Completion Date :

Jun 1, 2006

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
No Intervention: 1 No triage liaison physician	Behavioral: Triage Liaison Physician triage liaison physician stationed with nurses at the triage desk of the Emergency Department.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

No Intervention: 1

No triage liaison physician

Behavioral: Triage Liaison Physician

triage liaison physician stationed with nurses at the triage desk of the Emergency Department.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Median patient length of stay [while in the Emergency Department]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Left without being seen [while in the Emergency Department]
ambulance turnaround times [while in the Emergency Department]
satisfaction (physicians and nurses) [following their Emergency Department shift]
TLP activity [while in the Emergency Department]

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

17 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

Only adult patients (> 17 years of age) presenting to the University of Alberta Hospital Emergency Department (UAH ED), during the study interval will be included in the evaluation.