Time-to-inpatient-bed - Health Quality Ontario (HQO)

INDICATOR NAME

Name

Emergency department wait time for inpatient bed

Alternate Name

Time to inpatient bed

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION

Description

This indicator measures the time interval between the Disposition Date/Time (as determined by the main service provider) and the Date/Time Patient Left Emergency Department (ED) for admission to an inpatient bed or operating room.

Indicator Status

Active

HQO Reporting tool/product

Quality Improvement Plans (QIPs)

Dimension

Timely

Type

Process

DEFINITION AND SOURCE INFORMATION

Unit of Measurement

Hours

Calculation Methods

The indicator is measured in hours using the 90th percentile, which represents the maximum length of time that 90% of patients admitted from the ED wait for an inpatient bed or an operating room.

Unit of analysis: Single ED visit

All emergency visits

Inclusions:

Admitted unscheduled emergency visits
ED visits with a valid and known Disposition Date/Time and a valid and known date/time the patient left the ED

Exclusions:

Scheduled emergency visits
Non-admitted unscheduled emergency visits
Visits with unknown/invalid Disposition Date/Time OR unknown/invalid date/time the patient left the ED

Numerator including inclusion/exclusion

N/A

Denominator including inclusion/exclusion

N/A

Data Source

National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS)

Data provided to HQO by

Cancer Care Ontario (CCO)

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Comments Detailed

This is a mandatory QIP indicator for 2020/21. Current performance reporting period: October - December 2019. Time is crucial to the effectiveness and outcome of patient care, especially for emergency patients. In conjunction with other indicators, this can be used to monitor the inpatient bed turnover rate and the total length of time admitted patients spend in the ED in an effort to improve the efficiency and, ultimately, the outcome of patient care. Many factors can influence the indicator results, including the availability of inpatient beds, the percentage of alternate level of care (ALC) patients, the overall patient population and hospital resources. The 90th percentile of this indicator represents the maximum length of time that 90% of patients admitted from the ED wait for an inpatient bed or an operating room in the ED.