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The International Federation for Emergency Medicine report on emergency department crowding and access block: A brief summary
  1. Arshia P Javidan1,2,
  2. Kim Hansen3,4,
  3. Ian Higginson5,
  4. Peter Jones6,7,
  5. Eddy Lang8,9
  6. International Federation Emergency Department Crowding and Access Block Task Force
    1. 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    2. 2Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    3. 3Emergency Department, Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, Queensland, Australia
    4. 4Emergency Department, St. Andrew's War Memorial Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
    5. 5Emergency Department, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
    6. 6Emergency Department, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
    7. 7Department of Surgery, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
    8. 8Department of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
    9. 9Department of Emergency Medicine, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
    1. Correspondence to Arshia P Javidan, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; arshia.javidan{at}mail.utoronto.ca

    Abstract

    Objective To develop comprehensive guidance that captures international impacts, causes and solutions related to emergency department (ED) crowding and access block.

    Methods Emergency physicians representing 15 countries from all International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM) regions composed the Task Force. Monthly meetings were held via video-conferencing software to achieve consensus for report content. The report was submitted and approved by the IFEM Board on June 1, 2020.

    Results A total of 14 topic dossiers, each relating to an aspect of ED crowding, were researched and completed collaboratively by members of the Task Force.

    Conclusions The IFEM report is a comprehensive document intended to be used in whole or by section to inform and address aspects of ED crowding and access block. Overall, ED crowding is a multifactorial issue requiring systems-wide solutions applied at local, regional, and national levels. Access block is the predominant contributor of ED crowding in most parts of the world.

    • care systems
    • crowding
    • emergency care systems
    • emergency department management
    • emergency department operations
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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Ellen J Weber

    • Twitter @APJavidan

    • Presented at This article is being simultaneously published in the International Journal of Emergency Medicine (doi: 10.1186/s12245-020-00312-x), Canadian Journal of Emergency medicine (doi: 10.1007/s43678-020-00065-9), Emergency Medicine Journal (doi: 10.1136/emermed-2020-210716), and Emergency Medicine Australasia (doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13660).

    • Correction notice This article has been corrected since it first published. The provenance and peer review statement has been included.

    • Collaborators International Federation Emergency Department Crowding and Access Block Task Force: Arshia Javidan; Kim Hansen; Ian Higginson; Peter Jones; David Petrie; John Bonning; Simon Judkins; Eric Revue; David Lewis; Brian Holroyd; Laurie Mazurik; Colin Graham; Alix Carter; Shirley Lee; Eliecer Cohen-Olivella; Paul Ho; Ramesh Maharjan; Bianca Bertuzzi; Haldun Akoglu; Jim Ducharme; Maaret Castren; Adrian Boyle; Howard Ovens; Cheng-Chung Fang; Joseph Kalanzi; Jeremiah Schuur; Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy; Taj Hassan; Gautam Bodiwala; Pauline Convocar; Katherine Henderson; Eddy Lang.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests The IFEM ED Crowding and Access Block Report is referenced in the paper and is available on the IFEM website in its entirety. This article is being simultaneously published in the International Journal of Emergency Medicine (doi: 10.1186/s12245-020-00312-x), Canadian Journal of Emergency medicine (doi: 10.1007/s43678-020-00065-9), Emergency Medicine Journal (doi: 10.1136/emermed-2020-210716), and Emergency Medicine Australasia (doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13660).

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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