Improved quality and efficiency after the introduction of physician-led team triage in an emergency department.

Background: Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) may negatively affect patient outcomes, so different triage models have been introduced to improve performance. Physician-led team triage obtains better results than other triage models. We compared efficiency and quality measures before and after reorganization of the triage model in the ED at our county hospital.

A case-control study of self-reported health, quality-of-life and general functioning among recent immigrants and age- and sex-matched Swedish-born controls.

Aim: To examine whether new immigrants had inferior quality-of-life, well-being and general functioning compared with Swedish age- and sex-matched controls.

Methods: A prospective case-control study was designed including immigrants from non-European countries, 18-65 years of age, with recent Permanent Permits to Stay (PPS) in Sweden, and age- and sex-matched Swedish-born (SB) persons from the general population in Västmanland County, Sweden. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life (WHOQOL-BREF) Scale and the General Activity Functioning Assessment Scale (GAF) from DSM-IV were posted (SB), or applied in personal interviews (PPS) with interpreters.

Physician-led team triage based on lean principles may be superior for efficiency and quality? A comparison of three emergency departments with different triage models.

Background: The management of emergency departments (EDs) principally involves maintaining effective patient flow and care. Different triage models are used today to achieve these two goals. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of different triage models used in three Swedish EDs.