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Emergency physician workload modeling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2015

Isser Dubinsky
Isser Dubinsky*
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
*
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, c/o Hay Group, 121 King Street West, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON M5H 3X7; [email protected].

Abstract

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Background:

A variety of models are used by hospitals, provincial governments, and departments of emergency medicine to “predict” the number of physician hours of coverage necessary to staff emergency departments. These models have arisen to meet specific requirements—some for the purpose of determining hourly rates of compensation, others to determine the amount of funding that will be provided to “purchase” physician coverage, and others to determine the number of hours of coverage necessary to maintain patient waits within “acceptable” limits. All such models have their strengths and weaknesses and have been criticized as not reflecting the “real” needs of any given department.

Objective:

In the article that follows, a review of existing models is presented, annotating their strengths and weaknesses to derive the characteristics of an “ideal” workload model.

Conclusion:

None of the models currently used to measure emergency department workload can be relied on to accurately predict the number of staffed hours necessary. Models that may achieve this objective are suggested.

Keywords

emergencymodelingphysicianworkload
Type
Original Research • Recherche originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 215 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2012

References

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