Measuring emergency department (ED) length of stay provides information about not only care within hospitals, but also how well other parts of the health system are working. Some patients may spend a long time in the ED because inpatient beds are not available. The lack of available inpatient beds is often a result of other factors in the health system, such as patients not being able to leave the hospital for care in other places.
Indicator: Percentage of patients who visited the emergency department (ED) and left without being seen (LWBS) by a physician
This indicator measures the percentage of visits to the ED that result in the patient leaving before being assessed or treated by a physician.
Indicator: 90th percentile emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS)
This indicator measures the total time elapsed between the time of triage or registrations (whichever occurs first) and the time the patient leaves the emergency department. This indicator will use the 90th percentile ED LOS as its evaluation metric.
Indicator: 90th percentile ambulance offload time (AOT)
This indicator measures the total time elapsed between the time of ambulance arrival at the ED and the time of the ambulance transfer of care process. This indicator will use the 90th percentile AOT as its evaluation metric.
Indicator: 90th percentile emergency department (ED) wait time to inpatient bed
This indicator measures the time interval between the disposition date/time and the date/time the patient left the ED for admission to an inpatient bed (or operating room).
This indicator will use the 90th percentile time to physician initial assessment (PIA) as its evaluation metric.
Key Resources