In each issue on this page, we report on research from or relevant to the emerging urgent care marketplace. This month, we relay data that track patient satisfaction with the emergency room based on time of day respondents arrived for treatment.
Source: Pulse Report 2009: Emergency Department. Patient Perspective on American Health Care and Emergency Department Pulse Report 2007. Patient Perspectives on American Health Care. Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
While these data do not take into account wait times, per se, the authors note that “Staffing patterns, patient volume, and acuity of patient conditions may play a large part in these differences in satisfaction. By mid-afternoon, wait times may be on the rise as patient volumes have increased during the day.”
Presumably, at least some of the dissatisfied patients who presented to the ED could have been treated successfully in the urgent care setting.
Would such patients in your area know where to find you, and what your hours are? And have you considered forging a referral relationship with nearby hospitals to handle overflow from their ED?
If you are aware of new data that you’ve found useful in your practice, let us know via e-mail to [email protected]. We’ll share your discovery with your colleagues in an upcoming issue of JUCM.