Advertising Emergency Department Wait Times

منو

" Advertising Emergency Department Wait Times "
Weiner, Scott G

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	933988
Doc. No	:	LA0bt69906
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Weiner, Scott G
Title & Author	:	Advertising Emergency Department Wait Times [Article]\ Weiner, Scott G
Title of Periodical	:	Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health
Volume/ Issue Number	:	14/2
Date	:	2013
Abstract	:	Advertising emergency department (ED) wait times has become a common practice in the United States. Proponents of this practice state that it is a powerful marketing strategy that can help steer patients to the ED. Opponents worry about the risk to the public health that arises from a patient with an emergent condition self-triaging to a further hospital, problems with inaccuracy and lack of standard definition of the reported time, and directing lower acuity patients to the higher cost ED setting instead to primary care. Three sample cases demonstrating the pitfalls of advertising ED wait times are discussed. Given the lack of rigorous evidence supporting the practice and potential adverse effects to the public health, caution about its use is advised. [West J Emerg Med 2013;14(2):77-78.]