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Emergency nurse practitioner care and emergency department patient flow: case-control study

journal contribution
posted on 2006-08-01, 00:00 authored by Julie ConsidineJulie Considine, R Martin, D Smit, C Winter, J Jenkins
Objective: The present study aimed to compare ED waiting times (for medical assessment and treatment), treatment times and length of stay (LOS) for patients managed by an emergency nurse practitioner candidate (ENPC) with patients managed via traditional ED care. Methods: A case–control design was used. Patients were selected using the three most common ED discharge diagnoses for ENPC managed patients: hand/wrist wounds, hand/wrist fractures and removal of plaster of Paris. The ENPC group (n = 102) consisted of patients managed by the ENPC who had ED discharge diagnoses as mentioned above. The control group (n = 623) consisted of patients with the same ED discharge diagnoses who were managed via traditional ED care. Results: There were no significant differences in median waiting times, treatment times and ED LOS between ENPC managed patients and patients managed via traditional ED processes. There appeared to be some variability between diagnostic subgroups in terms of treatment times and ED LOS. Conclusion: Patient flow outcomes for ENPC managed patients are comparable with those of patients managed via usual ED processes.

History

Journal

Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA

Volume

18

Issue

4

Pagination

385 - 390

Publisher

Blackwell Publishing Asia

Location

Carlton South, Vic

ISSN

1742-6731

eISSN

1742-6723

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2006, The Authors

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