Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Document Type
Major Paper
School
Zvart Onanian School of Nursing
Department
Nursing
Date of Original Version
2023
Abstract
As of 2019 the Center for Disease Control reports 130 million emergency department visits across the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Rising use of emergency departments (ED) may have a negative impact on patient flow while evidence has supported the fact that a shorter length of stay for ED patients leads to improved clinical outcomes and improved patient satisfaction (Baek et al., 2018). Emergency departments around the world are trialing and implementing strategies to improve throughput and length of stay for patients. Some hospitals are expanding the size of their emergency departments while others attempt to increase staffing. Point of care testing is a growing area of healthcare technology which provides certain test results faster than traditional methods. Pines et al. (2018) was able to demonstrate a faster time to result when utilizing both troponin and chem8 point of care testing in the ED. Utilizing The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol studies were identified, screened, and assessed for eligibility in the following systematic review. This systematic review compiled all applicable randomized control trials from the last twelve years related to the use of point of care testing in the emergency department to determine if their implementation led to decreased throughput time. All of the studies that met the inclusion criteria showed varying rates of decreased emergency department throughput time with no major adverse events. Although all studies did show a decrease in throughput time, more research in this area would be beneficial with a wider variety of point of care testing. APRNs should be aware of the capabilities of point of care testing as it can impact the care they provide to patients and they can also play a pivotal role in advocating for its implementation. As point of care testing grows, future studies should focus on broad implementation to address the possibilities of synergistic effect and overall positive outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Anthony, Benjamin, "Effect of Point of Care Testing On Emergency Department Throughput Time" (2023). Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview. 464.
https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd/464
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