The factors affecting the waiting time of outpatients in the emergency unit of selected teaching hospitals of Tehran

• Published in: Electronic journal of general medicine Vol. 15; no. 4; p. em66
• Main Authors: Hemmati, Farhad, Mahmoudi, Ghahraman, Dabbaghi, Fatemeh, Fatehi, Fahimeh, Rezazadeh, Esmaeil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: East Sussex 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Patients; Teaching hospitals
• ISSN: 2516-3507; 2516-3507
• DOI: 10.29333/ejgm/93135

Background and Objective: Long stops in the emergency unit will result in patient dissatisfaction and increased casualties. The present study aimed to determine the waiting time of patients visiting the emergency unit of two selected teaching hospitals in Tehran and the factors affecting it. Methodology: The present research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study which was conducted in 2016. The statistical population included all patients and their caregivers in the emergency unit of Mofid and Ali Asghar hospitals, 335 of whom were selected were selected as the sample. The required data were collected using the patient’s waiting time form and an author-made questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was obtained 90% using Cronbach’s alpha. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and independent t-test in SPSS-22. Findings: The results indicated that factors such as the large number of patients, long distance between emergency units, poor communication, and the low number of manpower affect the prolonged patient waiting time. In addition, the results showed the patient waiting time has a significant relationship with working shift, the day of visit, and insurance coverage (p≤0.05). Conclusion: The study findings suggested that several factors increase the waiting time of patients in emergency units. Hence, it is recommended to take necessary measures for proper distribution of manpower in a different working shift and also on weekdays and holidays in order to reduce the patient waiting time. In addition, skills and experience of the emergency unit staff need to be improved through training courses.