The Influence of COVID-19 in The U.S Emergency Department
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Kevin Gittner
Department
WCHHS – Health Promotion and Physical Education
Abstract
The exposure of COVID-19 has led to an increase in patients leaving the Emergency Department before meeting with a healthcare provider. The purpose of this research is to find and compare the correlation of increased patient discharges and how COVID-19 was a factor that played a role in the data. Research includes the number of patient visits, who left or didn’t leave the hospital, and number of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Emergency Department. The 2021 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) was utilized to analyze the discharged Emergency Department visits with COVID-19 diagnosis. The patients were identified using the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code U07.1 to diagnose the coronavirus. The descriptive status was used to analyze the patient demographic and discharge status for further analysis. The (NHAMCS) investigates trends going on in the Emergency Department during COVID-19. The statistical analysis conducted the occurrence of COVID-19 and influenced patients who left without being seen. The results show that 2.8% of the patients were confirmed to be diagnosed with COVID- 19. There was a significant relationship found between the patient wait time and an increased likelihood of leaving without being seen. The findings show both Coronavirus cases and an increase in waiting likely contribute to a higher rate of leaving without being seen. There is a strong relationship between the COVID-19 and early patient discharges, and the results will be represented through summary statistics and data models to analyze the increase of patients leaving before seeing a healthcare provider in the Emergency Department.
Disciplines
COVID-19 | Health Services Administration | Patient Safety | Public Health
The Influence of COVID-19 in The U.S Emergency Department
The exposure of COVID-19 has led to an increase in patients leaving the Emergency Department before meeting with a healthcare provider. The purpose of this research is to find and compare the correlation of increased patient discharges and how COVID-19 was a factor that played a role in the data. Research includes the number of patient visits, who left or didn’t leave the hospital, and number of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Emergency Department. The 2021 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) was utilized to analyze the discharged Emergency Department visits with COVID-19 diagnosis. The patients were identified using the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code U07.1 to diagnose the coronavirus. The descriptive status was used to analyze the patient demographic and discharge status for further analysis. The (NHAMCS) investigates trends going on in the Emergency Department during COVID-19. The statistical analysis conducted the occurrence of COVID-19 and influenced patients who left without being seen. The results show that 2.8% of the patients were confirmed to be diagnosed with COVID- 19. There was a significant relationship found between the patient wait time and an increased likelihood of leaving without being seen. The findings show both Coronavirus cases and an increase in waiting likely contribute to a higher rate of leaving without being seen. There is a strong relationship between the COVID-19 and early patient discharges, and the results will be represented through summary statistics and data models to analyze the increase of patients leaving before seeing a healthcare provider in the Emergency Department.