ArticleBMC health services research2022
Operations management solutions to improve ED patient flows: evidence from the Italian NHS.
Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Emergency department crowding in the modern era: a systematic review (2018-2025).Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Multi-Indication Budget Impact Analysis of Subcutaneous IgPro20 Pre-filled Syringes for the Treatment of Primary Immunodeficiency Syndromes, Secondary Immunodeficiencies, and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy in Italy.Advances in therapy · 2026Article
- Strengthening emergency care capacity to increase inpatient admissions: a single-centre quality improvement project in Tokyo.BMJ open quality · 2026Observational
- Overcrowding Indicators in Emergency Departments Across Countries: Scoping Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- Patient flow management in biological events: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in an Overcrowded Emergency Department: Controlling the Spread to the Hospital.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOvercrowding occurs when the identified need for emergency services outweighs the available resources in the emergency department (ED). Literature shows that ED overcrowding impacts the overall quality of the entire hospital production system, as confirmed by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to identify the most relevant variables that cause ED overcrowding using the input-process-output model with the aim of providing managers and policy makers with useful hints for how to effectively redesign ED operations.
methodsA mixed-method approach is used, blending qualitative inquiry with quantitative investigation in order to: i) identifying and operationalizing the main components of the model that can be addressed by hospital operation management teams and ii) testing and measuring how these components can influence ED LOS.
resultsWith a dashboard of indicators developed following the input-process-output model, the analysis identifies the most significant variables that have an impact on ED overcrowding: the type (age and complexity) and volume of patients (input), the actual ED structural capacity (in terms of both people and technology) and the ED physician-to-nurse ratio (process), and the hospital discharging process (output).
conclusionsThe present paper represents an original contribution regarding two different aspects. First, this study combines different research methodologies with the aim of capturing relevant information that by relying on just one research method, may otherwise be missed. Second, this study adopts a hospitalwide approach, adding to our understanding of ED overcrowding, which has thus far focused mainly on single aspects of ED operations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.