Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

uu.sePublications from Uppsala University
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Effects of multidisciplinary teamwork on lead times and patient flow in the emergency department: a longitudinal interventional cohort study
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Cardiovascular epidemiology. Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Health Services Research. School of Nursing, University of Adelaide, Australia.
Karolinska institutet. (LIME/MME)
Karolinska institutet/Södersjukhuset.
2013 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, E-ISSN 1757-7241, Vol. 21, p. 76-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Long waiting times for emergency care are claimed to be caused by overcrowded emergency departments and non-effective working routines. Teamwork has been suggested as a promising solution to these issues. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of teamwork in a Swedish emergency department on lead times and patient flow. Methods: The study was set in an emergency department of a university hospital where teamwork, a multi-professional team responsible for the whole care process for a group of patients, was introduced. The study has a longitudinal non-randomized intervention study design. Data were collected for five two-week periods during a period of 1.5 years. The first part of the data collection used an ABAB design whereby standard procedure (A) was altered weekly with teamwork (B). Then, three follow-ups were conducted. At last follow-up, teamwork was permanently implemented. The outcome measures were: number of patients handled within teamwork time, time to physician, total visit time and number of patients handled within the 4-hour target. Results: A total of 1,838 patient visits were studied. The effect on lead times was only evident at the last follow-up. Findings showed that the number of patients handled within teamwork time was almost equal between the different study periods. At the last follow-up, the median time to physician was significantly decreased by 11 minutes (p = 0.0005) compared to the control phase and the total visit time was significantly shorter at last follow-up compared to control phase (p = <0.0001; 39 minutes shorter on average). Finally, the 4-hour target was met in 71% in the last follow-up compared to 59% in the control phase (p = 0.0005). Conclusions: Teamwork seems to contribute to the quality improvement of emergency care in terms of small but significant decreases in lead times. However, although efficient work processes such as teamwork are necessary to ensure safe patient care, it is likely not sufficient for bringing about larger decreases in lead times or for meeting the 4-hour target in the emergency department.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2013. Vol. 21, p. 76-
Keywords [en]
Teamwork, Emergency department, Waiting times, Lead times, Patient flow, Patient safety, 4-hour target
National Category
Medical and Health Sciences
Research subject
Health Care Research
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-210430DOI: 10.1186/1757-7241-21-76ISI: 000328042500001PubMedID: 24180367OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-210430DiVA, id: diva2:662620
Projects
TEPPPAvailable from: 2013-11-07 Created: 2013-11-07 Last updated: 2024-01-17Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMed

Authority records

Muntlin Athlin, Åsa

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Muntlin Athlin, Åsa
By organisation
Cardiovascular epidemiologyHealth Services Research
In the same journal
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
Medical and Health Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 412 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf