engleski

EFFICIENCY OF TRIAGE SYSTEM AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DUBRAVA - RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

This retrospective study addresses the effi cacy of a triage system at University Hospital Dubrava (UHD), from December 1st, 2014 to November 30th, 2019. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness and maximum waiting time of patients at the Internal Medicine Emergency Department (IMED) and Surgery Emergency Department (SED) in UHD over fi ve-year period, and to compare the results with Australasian triage system (ATS) standards. We also aim to establish the dynamics of the quantity of patients in all triage categories and to correlate the results with the changes in the structure of the UHD emergency service that occurred in 2019 (reduction of the territorial coverage of the UHD emergency department and an additional doctor at the SED site). Information on 217, 567 patients triaged and treated at IMED and SED from December 1st, 2014 to November 30th, 2019 were enabled from the offi cial Hospital Information System (HIS). The distribution of patients is by triage category, maximum waiting time for the start of the examination and effi ciency. From our results it is evident that the decrease in the number of patients in 2019 due to the decrease in the scope of territorial coverage of the UHD emergency service and an additional doctor at the SED site contributed to the reduction of waiting time for examination and increase of effi ciency in all triage categories, especially in categories 2 and 3 where effi ciency was initially the lowest. This suggests that reducing the scope of territorial emergency coverage as well as introducing additional medical staff increases effi ciency, that is, results in faster patient care. Additional research and analysis of spatial usability, staffi ng and other resources needs to be done regarding the daily fl ow of patients through the emergency room, all with the aim of improving the effi ciency of triage, safety and treatment quality of the patients examined.

emergency department ; efficiency ; triage system ; triage categories

nije evidentirano