Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39429424›Full record

ArticleCureus2024

Evaluating the Impact of Casino-Shifts on Patient Flow in an Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.

Melanie A Johnston, Rachel Goss, Kavish Chandra, Robert Goss, Paul Atkinson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Melanie A JohnstonEmergency Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown, CAN.
Rachel GossEmergency Medicine, Saint John Regional Hospital, Dalhousie University, Saint John, CAN.
Kavish ChandraEmergency Medicine, Saint John Regional Hospital, Dalhousie University, Saint John, CAN.
Robert GossAnesthesiology, Saint John Regional Hospital, Dalhousie University, Saint John, CAN.
Paul AtkinsonEmergency Medicine, Saint John Regional Hospital, Dalhousie University, Saint John, CAN.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesDemand for emergency services has resulted in an increased number of physicians experiencing burnout. Burnout rates amongst emergency medicine physicians consistently exceed that of other specialties, with shift work being a large contributor to the phenomenon. Casino-shift scheduling has addressed this issue in several emergency departments (EDs). Casino-shift scheduling is modeled around circadian rhythm theory which shows that anchor sleep helps to preserve circadian rhythm and normalize sleep patterns. To account for this, casino-shift models schedule overnight coverage with two six-hour shifts, to allow both physicians to obtain some sleep within the 01:00 to 06:00 am anchor period. While the benefits of the model have been demonstrated concerning physician well-being, there is a paucity of evidence assessing if this model has any effect on quality measures such as patient flow. Given the importance of patient flows to ED functioning, the objective of our study was to determine the effect of a casino-shift trial on overnight patient flow variables in a tertiary ED.

methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of administrative data for overnight (10:00 pm to 10:00 am) patient flow variables during a two-month casino-shift intervention period (September 9, 2019, to November 4, 2019) compared with a control period at an ED in Eastern Canada. We analyzed various measures of patient flow for patients presenting overnight between 10:00 pm to 10:00 am during the study period. Primary outcome measures were wait time (WT), length of stay (LOS), and admission rates.

resultsOf the 19170 patient visits, 16787 met inclusion criteria. The median overnight WTs for the casino-shift intervention period were longer at 68 minutes (interquartile range (IQR) 31-154 minutes), compared with 51 minutes (IQR 21-104 minutes) in the control group. The LOS for the intervention was 217 minutes (IQR 132-358 minutes) compared with 195 minutes (IQR 112-336 minutes) for the control. There were 166 admissions/month during the trial, and 193 admissions/month during the 10-month control period.

conclusionsIn our study, our patient flow indicators of median WT and LOS were longer in the casino-shift intervention period by an absolute difference of 17 minutes and 22 minutes respectively. As a relatively new concept in emergency medicine scheduling, the impact of the casino-shift model on both well-being and ED efficiency warrants further investigation given the potential benefits to an occupation prone to burnout.

Indexed as

burnoutcasinoemergency departmentflowpatient outcomeswellness

Identifiers

PMID39429424
PMCPMC11490069

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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.