Impact of the Implementation of a Low-Complexity Emergency Care Protocol in the Patient Experience at a Level 3 Academic Institution in Colombia.

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency department overcrowding is a universal problem. It is associated not only with poor clinical outcomes but also with a decrease in patient satisfaction, especially in patients with low complexity emergencies or triage 4 and 5, who tend to have a longer waiting time.

Objective: This study aims to determine whether the implementation of a care strategy for patients with low complexity emergencies called "The special Line" in the emergency department of a third level academic institution in Colombia, has a positive impact on the level of satisfaction with the care received by the patient and the number of people who leave without being seen.

Methods: This is a retrospective analytical observational study that looks at the effect on the rate of patients who leave without being seen and the net promoter score (NPS) of the entire emergency department of establishing a protocol for the care of patients with low complexity emergencies.

Results: Of a total of 22,743 patients divided into the two comparison groups, it was found that after the implementation of the care protocol, a non-significant reduction in the median rate of patients without care from 2.35% to 1.85% was documented, as well as a significant improvement in the median value of the NPS from 44 to 53, p: 0.001.

Conclusion: The implementation of a protocol for the care of patients with low-complexity emergencies demonstrated a significant improvement in the experience of care for all users in the emergency service, additionally, indirectly influencing the leave without being seen of the entire emergency service.