Overcrowding in the ER

Research Paper # 101528

Medical and Health
Public Administration
Sociology > Welfare

This paper discusses that overcrowding in the ER causes a negative impact on health care delivery.

1,216 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that emergency room overcrowding comprises one of the most crucial issues confronting hospitals all over North America. This problem is so serious that it has attained crisis proportions. The writer maintains that the stress created for patients, ER staff, and the hospital amounts to a vicious circle that has no solution. The writer points out that the scope of the impact of overcrowding in the emergency department becomes clear when it is realized that the emergency department is the only publicly mandated, guaranteed access to healthcare provided for 44 million persons in the United States who lack health insurance. The writer maintains that emergency room overcrowding jeopardizes the quality of patient care and places patients at high risk of treatment delays or inadequate care. The writer concludes that the issue can only be partially and inadequately addressed in the ER itself as the problem is systemic and extends over the entire health care organization, its funding and the way that resources have been distributed.

From the Paper:

"Emergency department overcrowding which is combined with heavy emergency resource demand has led to a variety of problems, including ambulance refusals, prolonged patient waiting times, and rushed and unpleasant treatment environments. The most serious outcome involves potentially poor patient outcomes. Inordinate stress on institutional resources and ER overcrowding can jeopardize the hospital's ability to respond to community emergencies and disasters. In addition, physicians and other health care providers often find it difficult to maintain their work effectiveness under such strained conditions. Scarce resource and overcrowding tend to reduce professional effectiveness and job satisfaction among ER staff. Overcrowding increases the likelihood of medical errors as well as possibility of patients leaving prior to receiving essential treatment. At the same time, overcrowded conditions and scarcity of resources are not uniform across all emergency departments because varying sets of limiting factors are at work."

Sample of Sources Used:

Hughes, C. (2004). New Scientific Evidence Finds Emergency Department Crowding Impacts Quality of Care. American College of Emergency Physicians. Accessed January 27, 2007. http://www.acep.org
Jones, S., A. Todd, T. Flottemesch, & Welch, S. (2006). An Independent Evaluation of Four Quantitative Emergency Department Crowding Scales. Academic Emergency Medicine, 13 (11), 1204-1211.
Liebenrood, C. (2003). Emergency room overcrowding: A national perspective - Fact sheet. Baptist Memorial Health Care. Accessed January 27, 2007. bmhcc.org/media/news/archivecontent.asp?category=2003
Rondeau, K. & Francescutti, L. (2005). Emergency department overcrowding: The impact of resource scarcity on physician job satisfaction. Journal of Health Care Management, 50 (5), 327-343.
USATODAY (2002). Overcrowding in emergency rooms common. Health & Science. Accessed January 28, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2002-04-09-er-overcrowding.htm