A Review on the Contribution of Emergency Department Simulation Studies in Reducing Wait Time

Abstract

Background: Because of the important role of hospital emergency departments (EDs) in providing urgent care, EDs face a constantly large demand that often results in long wait times. Objective: To review and analyze the existing literature in ED simulation modeling and its contribution in reducing patient wait time. Methods: A literature review was conducted on simulation modeling in EDs. Results: A total of 41 articles have met the inclusion criteria. The papers were categorized based on their motivations, modeling techniques, data collection processes, patient classification, recommendations, and implementation statuses. Real impact is seldom measured; only four papers (~10%) have reported the implementation of their recommended changes in the real world. Conclusion: The reported implementations contributed significantly to wait time reduction, but the proportion of simulation studies that are implemented is too low to conclude causality. Researchers should budget resources to implement their simulation recommendations in order to measure their impact on patient wait time.