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Triage Liaison Physician - Evaluation of a Novel Approach to Address Emergency Department Overcrowding

This study has been completed.
Sponsor:
Information provided by:
University of Alberta
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT00435890
First received: February 15, 2007
Last updated: September 11, 2008
Last verified: September 2008
History of Changes
  Purpose

This randomized controlled trial will introduce a triage liaison physician (TLP) into the University of Alberta Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and assess the influence on patients who leave without being seen, ED length of stay, and other ED Overcrowding outcomes.


Condition Intervention Phase
Acute Illness
 Behavioral: Triage Liaison Physician
 Phase 4

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Official Title: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Liaison Physician at the Triage Desk to Reduce Emergency Department Overcrowding and Improve Patient Flow.

Further study details as provided by University of Alberta:

Primary Outcome Measures:
  • Median patient length of stay [ Time Frame: while in the Emergency Department ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:
  • Left without being seen [ Time Frame: while in the Emergency Department ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  • ambulance turnaround times [ Time Frame: while in the Emergency Department ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • satisfaction (physicians and nurses) [ Time Frame: following their Emergency Department shift ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • TLP activity [ Time Frame: while in the Emergency Department ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Enrollment: 5718
Study Start Date: December 2005
Study Completion Date: June 2006
Primary Completion Date: February 2006 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Arms Assigned Interventions
No Intervention: 1
No triage liaison physician
 Behavioral: Triage Liaison Physician
triage liaison physician stationed with nurses at the triage desk of the Emergency Department.

Detailed Description:

ED Overcrowding is a significant cause of delayed care, patient dissatisfaction, and poor outcomes in North American EDs. This intervention has not been widely studied; however, it represents an opportunity for improving patient flows in EDs.

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   17 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   No
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Only adult patients (> 17 years of age) presenting to the University of Alberta Hospital Emergency Department (UAH ED), during the study interval will be included in the evaluation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Direct admits/Pediatric patients.
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00435890

Locations
Canada, Alberta
University of Alberta Hospital
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2B7
Sponsors and Collaborators
University of Alberta
Investigators
Study Director: Brian H Rowe, MD University of Alberta
  More Information

Publications:

Responsible Party: Brian Holroyd, University of Alberta
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00435890     History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers: B-091105
Study First Received: February 15, 2007
Last Updated: September 11, 2008
Health Authority: Canada: Ethics Review Committee

Keywords provided by University of Alberta:
ED Overcrowding
Length of stay
Emergency triage
triage

Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Emergencies
Disease Attributes
Pathologic Processes

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on June 13, 2013