Evaluating the impact of emergency department crowding on disposition patterns and outcomes of discharged patients

Crowding is a major challenge faced by EDs and is associated with poor outcomes.Determine the effect of high ED occupancy on disposition decisions, return ED visits, and hospitalizations.We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic health records of patients evaluated at an adult, urban, and academic ED over 20 months between the years 2012 and 2014. Using a logistic regression model predicting admission, we obtained estimates of the...