Saskatchewan HQC: Solutions for reducing ED wait times come from outside EDs

The Health Quality Council spent five years understanding wait times in the emergency department and found the issue has more to do with what’s going on elsewhere in the system than what’s happening in the ED. HQC’s ED Waits and Patient Flow team identified 10 lessons learned through their work. The top five of the key lessons include:

1. Continuity of relationships, management, and information is essential as people move through the healthcare system;
2. Teams of care providers who understand each other’s roles, communicate well, and resolve conflict effectively are critical in providing high-quality safe care;
3. Intermediate care teams that are well connected with strong primary care teams are needed to bridge the gap between intense hospital care and basic home care. The need for this care is growing as the population ages and care needs become more complex;
4. Big gains don’t require big dollars: Preventing functional decline for patients while they’re in hospital is proving to be an easy “win” in the country and around the world;
5. While the biggest gains will come from reducing hospital overcapacity, there are opportunities to improve operations within the EDs, by optimizing staff scheduling, lab and diagnostic imaging processes, and consultations.