Emergency Department and Emergency Medical Services Statistics and Trends

Every year, researchers release new studies related to emergency department (ED) and emergency medical services statistics and trends. For healthcare professionals and first responders employed in these fields, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest science and ensure that you have a strong understanding of the trends that have an impact on the industry. Here are some highlights of a few relevant studies that were released in 2012.

ED trend: increased wait times in EDs

An August 2009 data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics found that increased visits to emergency rooms has led to emergency department crowding and increased wait times for sometimes serious conditions. From 1999 through 2009, the number of visits to EDs increased 32 percent, from 102.8 million visits in 1999 to 136.1 million visits in 2009. The report shows that from 2003 through 2009, average wait times in U.S. EDs increased by 25 percent, from 46.5 minutes to 58.1 minutes. Wait times tended to be longer in EDs that demonstrated these characteristics:

If they went on ambulance diversion or boarded admitted patients in hallways and in other spaces.
If they were located in urban areas (62.4 minutes), compared with nonurban areas (40.0 minutes).
If they had a higher volume of visits. The average wait time among EDs with less than 20,000 annual visits was 33.8 minutes. Among EDs with 50,000 or more annual visits, the average wait time was 69.8 minutes.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db102.pdf

ED trend: lack of emergency pediatric supplies in U.S. hospitals

A March 2012 report from the National Center for Health Statistics highlighted the prevalence of on-hand pediatric emergency supplies in American hospitals in 2006. The report found that most hospitals do not have recommended supplies on hand. Here are some highlights from the report:

A mere 7.2 percent of hospital emergency departments (EDs) had all recommended pediatric emergency supplies; and 45.6 percent had at least 85 percent of recommended supplies on hand.
The rate at which hospitals met requirements was much higher among EDs in children’s hospitals and hospitals with pediatric intensive care units (PICUs); 74 percent of these facilities had 85 percent of recommended supplies.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr047.pdf

Emergency medical services statistics: improved outcomes from helicopter emergency transport

An April 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared the odds of survival among patients transported to trauma centers by helicopter versus those transported using ground transportation. The study found that patients with major trauma who were admitted to level I or level II trauma centers had higher rates of survival to hospital discharge when transported to the trauma center by helicopter.

Source: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1148152

EMS statistics: variances in hospital prenotification among emergency medical services

A July 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association examined national trends related to hospital prenotification of stroke patients among emergency medical services (EMS). Researchers examined nearly 400,000 patients with acute ischemic stroke who were transported to transported to more than 1,500 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association’s “Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke” program, a quality improvement program aimed at improving outcomes among stroke patients. Prenotification occurred with 67 percent of these patients, and showed substantial variation by geographic region and type of patient. Here are some highlights from the report:

Prenotification occurrence substantially varied by state. A mere 19.7 percent of patient transfers included hospital prenotification in Washington, D.C., compared to 93.4 percent in Montana.
Lower use of prenotification was associated with a variety of patient factors, including older age, diabetes mellitus and peripheral vascular disease.
Prenotification was less likely for black patients than for white patients.
Prenotification was more to be used when transporting patients to hospitals without academic affiliation, with a higher annual volume of tissue plasminogen activator administration and with geographic location outside the Northeastern U.S.

Visit Health Ed Solutions’ (HES) research library at healthedsolutions.com for more access to EMS statistics and emergency room statistics, as well as a wide variety of resources related to healthcare education, career trends and recent news. HES is the leading provider of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) online training and pediatric advanced life support (PALS) online courses. The certification provider also offers a variety of healthcare certification courses for healthcare professionals, first responders and individuals who want to be prepared to respond to a health emergency.