A Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effect of an Physician-Nurse Supplementary Triage Assistance Team (MDRN STAT) on Emergency Department Patient Wait Times

In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC) declared emergency department wait-times a government priority. The crisis of overcrowding and access block has become an international epidemic, affecting developing countries in Europe, North America, and Australasia. The MOHLTC has targeted 23 Ontario hospitals' prolonged wait times. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center has been selected. Therefore, this is a quality improvement study of patient wait-times and care.

During a 20-week period, the MDRN STAT will be present on randomly chosen weekdays (8:00-16:00) for 50 shifts. Wait-times, such as time from triage time to: physician assessment, stretcher occupation, treatment orders (drugs), investigation orders (laboratory, diagnostic imaging), investigation acquisition (diagnostic imaging), consultation, bed request, discharge from ED (i.e. length of stay (LOS)) time, will be analyzed. In addition, the left-without-being-seen rate (LWBS) and rate of return will be analyzed. These results will be compared to the Ontario wait-time strategy P4R targets, as well as the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS guidelines). Economic analysis of this intervention will be done. The hospital will independently perform patient satisfaction surveys. Health care worker satisfaction survey data will be analyzed.