Almost all the time, emergency departments receive hundreds of patient visits. And while they may appear efficient in tending to the needs of their patients, from a patient's point of view, this isn't the case. Because everyone who goes to an emergency department thinks that they have something of urgency, they believe that their condition cannot wait for even just several minutes.
This is where patient satisfaction comes into play, and how lack of healthcare providers and personnel direly and directly affect it.
Emergency departments receive as many as 136 million patients every year. While many individuals visiting EDs have cases that don't fall under the definition of "urgent" or "emergency," the facilities' staff still have to tend to them. And with so many people to attend to, it's not surprising that patients have to wait for quite some. The fact that the doctor to patient ratio has too big of a difference further lengthens wait time.
This is a common occurrence on an average day. It becomes even worse during the peak hours, wherein patient numbers doubles or even triples.
While there are many different reasons behind this challenge emergency departments face, lack of personnel remains one of the biggest causes. This is a good place to start when it comes to better ED management.
Fortunately, the healthcare and medical industries continue to see a rise in physician locum tenens practitioners. These doctors provide their services to a wide array of facilities, including emergency departments, and they can serve as the much-needed filler for the considerable gap between the physician and patient ratio.
Through incorporating locum tenens positions in the emergency department team, EDs can and will see a vast improvement in the quality of care they provide their patients.