Emergency department patients who stay more than 6 hours contribute to crowding.

Background: Admitted and discharged patients with prolonged emergency department (ED) stays may contribute to crowding by utilizing beds and staff time that would otherwise be used for new patients.

Objectives: To describe patients who stay > 6 h in the ED and determine their association with measures of crowding.

Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study carried out over 1 year at a single, urban, academic ED.

A descriptive study of heavy emergency department users at an academic emergency department reveals heavy ED users have better access to care than average users.

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding has been a significant problem for the last 10 years. Several studies have shown that a relatively small number of ED patients are responsible for a disproportionate amount of ED visits. This study aims to describe the frequent users of our emergency department.