Crowding in the Emergency Department: Challenges and Recommendations for the Care of Children.

Emergency department (ED) crowding results when available resources cannot meet the demand for emergency services. ED crowding has negative impacts on patients, health care workers, and the community. Primary considerations for reducing ED crowding include improving the quality of care, patient safety, patient experience, and the health of populations, as well as reducing the per capita cost of health care.

Crowding in the Emergency Department: Challenges and Best Practices for the Care of Children.

Emergency department (ED) crowding has been and continues to be a national concern. ED crowding is defined as a situation in which the identified need for emergency services outstrips available resources in the ED. Crowding is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, delayed pain control, delayed time to administration of antibiotics, increased medical errors, and less-than-optimal health care.

Nonurgent pediatric emergency department visits: Care-seeking behavior and parental knowledge of insurance.

OBJECTIVES The goals of this study were to describe the factors associated with utilization of emergency services for nonurgent illnesses by insured children in a pediatric emergency department (PED) and to assess parental knowledge of their insurance and its influence on care-seeking behaviors. METHODS We conducted a prospective, descriptive survey of parents of insured children evaluated for nonurgent illnesses in an urban PED. RESULTS A total of 251 surveys were completed.