Patient outcomes - ED length of stay

The impact that improved TATs have on patient outcomes is difficult to establish because of the unique work processes and contextual make up of each healthcare setting.⁴⁴ Critical care settings and EDs are areas where shorter TATs may be expected to contribute to the improvement of patient flows and reduction of length of stay.53 There are studies that have investigated the effect that improved TATs and the volume of tests have on reducing length of stay in the ED which can be expected to affect overcrowding and the quality of patient care.^{45 47 54} This project used multilevel linear regression modelling to examine the relationship between TAT and the number of tests and the length of stay in the ED. Our analysis produced a model that accounted for 24% of the variation in ED LOS and indicated that the ED LOS, on average, increased by 9.84% for every 60 minute increase in the test turnaround time (95% CI: 9.5% to 10.2%; p<0.0001). After adjusting for patient age, triage category, and number of tests conducted during the ED stay and eventual ED mode of separation, the model provided strong evidence that test turnaround time affects patients’ length of stay in the ED.