TY - GEN
T1 - Does Point-of-Care Testing impact length of stay in emergency departments (EDs)?
T2 - 26th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2018)
AU - Li, Ling
AU - McCaughey, Euan
AU - Iles-Mann, Juliana
AU - Sargeant, Andrew
AU - Westbrook, Johanna I.
AU - Georgiou, Andrew
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) and IOS Press 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - The implementation of Point-of-Care Testing (PoCT) services across rural and remote emergency departments (EDs) by NSW Health Pathology has the potential to significantly improve timely access to results for certain types of pathology laboratory tests and help to deliver timely patient care. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the implementation of PoCT on the length of stay (LOS) of patients in rural and remote EDs. A total of 3808 patients with a circulatory system illness were treated and discharged at any one of 22 rural and remote EDs during the study period. Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) modelling was applied to examine whether the implementation of PoCT impacted the ED LOS with adjustment for a range of clinical variables. More patients were treated and discharged from these rural and remote EDs within 4-hours after the PoCT implementation (post-PoCT 86.8% versus pre-PoCT 84.3%). Although average ED LOS was 11 minutes shorter in the post-PoCT period, the impact of PoCT on ED LOS was not conclusive after considering other important clinical factors (p=0.07). This study is the one of the few to examine changes in LOS following the introduction of PoCT in EDs in Australia. The study also identified areas where more robust methods could be applied in the future as the quality of PoCT data improves to further assess the potential effects of this technology on practice and outcomes.
AB - The implementation of Point-of-Care Testing (PoCT) services across rural and remote emergency departments (EDs) by NSW Health Pathology has the potential to significantly improve timely access to results for certain types of pathology laboratory tests and help to deliver timely patient care. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the implementation of PoCT on the length of stay (LOS) of patients in rural and remote EDs. A total of 3808 patients with a circulatory system illness were treated and discharged at any one of 22 rural and remote EDs during the study period. Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) modelling was applied to examine whether the implementation of PoCT impacted the ED LOS with adjustment for a range of clinical variables. More patients were treated and discharged from these rural and remote EDs within 4-hours after the PoCT implementation (post-PoCT 86.8% versus pre-PoCT 84.3%). Although average ED LOS was 11 minutes shorter in the post-PoCT period, the impact of PoCT on ED LOS was not conclusive after considering other important clinical factors (p=0.07). This study is the one of the few to examine changes in LOS following the introduction of PoCT in EDs in Australia. The study also identified areas where more robust methods could be applied in the future as the quality of PoCT data improves to further assess the potential effects of this technology on practice and outcomes.
KW - emergency department (ED)
KW - Laboratory
KW - length of stay (LOS)
KW - Point-of-care testing (PoCT)
KW - rural and remote EDs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056431528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3233/978-1-61499-890-7-99
DO - 10.3233/978-1-61499-890-7-99
M3 - Conference proceeding contribution
C2 - 30040690
AN - SCOPUS:85056431528
SN - 9781614998891
T3 - Studies in health technology and informatics
SP - 99
EP - 104
BT - Connecting the System to Enhance the Practitioner and Consumer Experience in Healthcare
A2 - Cummings, Elizabeth
A2 - Ryan, Angela
A2 - Schaper, Louise K.
PB - IOS Press
CY - Amsterdam
Y2 - 29 July 2018 through 1 August 2018
ER -