title: Emergency department decreases 4-hour wait times to 9 minutes.
abstract: The ED at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, NJ, has slashed its door-to-doc times down to nine minutes with the implementation of a new rapid evaluation unit model and other improved efficiencies. Here are some of the keys to their success: Triage was moved to the bedside, where specially trained nurses' aides perform point-of-care testing following evaluation by a nurse, a physician's assistant, or a doctor. Discussions with other departments made them aware of how their processes affected ED wait times. A discharge area was created to free up more beds in the ED proper.
mesh_terms: D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009515:New Jersey; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014850:Waiting Lists