A Systematic Review of Queue Management System: A Case of Prolonged Wait Times in Hospital Emergency Rooms

Abstract

Prolonged wait times in hospital emergency rooms is a growing concern for many, because of its many effects such as, overcrowding, patients leaving out of frustration without receiving medical attention, patients’ and their relatives’ irrational behaviors, as well as stress on both staff and patients. The main goal of this paper is to research the various methods used to reduce prolonged wait time; methods which range from staff increase, to reviewing of processes, and to opening of alternative care centers. Though there are many methods, but one method that has reduced time spent in hospitals by patients is the application of medical informatics. Hence, it is anticipated that medical informatics will similarly reduce wait times in ERs. Therefore, this review will analyze the various methods currently being used for reducing wait times and align it with medical informatics solutions. Discussions are along the lines of: focus of previous research, the methodologies used for these research, findings and gaps in the research. According to literature search, the dominant areas in medical informatics research are electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs). Another less dominant area of research is management of wait time using medical informatics. This review may assist in identifying future directions for research on prolonged wait time reduction and medical informatics.