University Case Study: Emergency Department Waiting Time and Solutions

This case study examines the issue of increasing waiting times in emergency departments, drawing from a case at Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento ED. The analysis addresses the impact of long wait times on patient care and satisfaction, and proposes strategies for improvement. The student's response discusses changes such as nurse-initiated medication protocols, staff matrix reviews, and modifications to patient flow to reduce wait times. The case also references the importance of adequate staffing, efficient medical equipment, and alternative treatment methods like telemedicine to manage patient flow and improve overall ED performance. References are provided to support the arguments, focusing on improving the quality of healthcare and patient experience.

Running Head: EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WAITING TIME
Emergency Department Waiting Time
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Response to Fatemeh’s Case
The waiting time at emergency departments have been increasing because of the
mismanagement of staff and the number of patients that visit the emergency department during
the peak hours. This rush of patients and the disorganized manner of staff allocation is likely to
affect the quality of healthcare received by the patients (Jacobs et al. 2013). Due to these
problems, Fatemeh, who is a pediatric doctor working at an emergency unit suggested some
changes that can be brought into the emergency department. She suggested changes like nurses
seeing the patients before the doctor checks on them. She also suggests triaging a patient
according to their levels of vulnerability (Monstad, Engesæter and Espehaug 2014). Another
major way of reducing time at the emergency waiting department is by staffing the emergency
departments correctly. There should board certified trauma doctors and surgeons in the
emergency department. Internists should also be present at every emergency department, they
will be able to treat the non-life threatening diseases and this will help reduce the time that a
person spends at the emergency department (Stienen et al. 2018).
Response to Nadezhda’s Case
This case gives long time remedy to the problem of waiting time in a hospital. This case
suggests remedies such as improving the medical equipment that are already present so that the
waiting time could be reduced. The procedures will take less time with improved equipment and
this will significantly reduce the waiting time at the hospital. There are other methods that will
reduce the waiting time at the hospital significantly. If the surgeries and other life threatening
treatments are done on the days that the inflow of patients are less this will help hospitals
manage their patients and the waiting time will also be managed similarly. Alternatives methods

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of treatment will also help reduce wait times. Like telemedicine for less serious patients will help
the hospital cut down on the wait time (Bergrath et al. 2013).

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References
Bergrath, S., Czaplik, M., Rossaint, R., Hirsch, F., Beckers, S.K., Valentin, B., Wielpütz, D.,
Schneiders, M.T. and Brokmann, J.C., 2013. Implementation phase of a multicentre prehospital
telemedicine system to support paramedics: feasibility and possible limitations. Scandinavian
journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 21(1), p.54.
Jacobs, R., Mannion, R., Davies, H.T., Harrison, S., Konteh, F. and Walshe, K., 2013. The
relationship between organizational culture and performance in acute hospitals. Social science &
medicine, 76, pp.115-125.
Monstad, K., Engesæter, L.B. and Espehaug, B., 2014. Waiting time and socioeconomic status—
An individual‐level analysis. Health Economics, 23(4), pp.446-461.
Stienen, M.N., Scholtes, F., Samuel, R., Weil, A., Weyerbrock, A. and Surbeck, W., 2018.
Different but similar: personality traits of surgeons and internists—results of a cross-sectional
observational study. BMJ open, 8(7), p.e021310.

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