Characteristics and outcomes of emergency department patients across health care systems: an international multicenter cohort study
Dublin Core
Title
Characteristics and outcomes of emergency department patients across health care systems: an international multicenter cohort study
Subject
Emergency department, Health-care systems, Quality of care, Template for uniform reporting
Description
Abstract
Background A wide variation of emergency medical system configurations across countries has limited the value
of comparison of quality and performance measures in the past. Furthermore, lack of quantitative data on EDs pre-
vents definition of the problems and possibilities for data driven improvement of quality of care. Therefore, the objec-
tive is to describe and compare Emergency Department (ED) populations and characteristics, and their outcomes
in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia, using a recently developed template for uniform reporting of standard-
ized measuring and describing of care provided in the ED (structure, staffing and governance, population, process
times and outcomes).
Methods This international multicenter cohort included all consecutive ED visits from National Quality Registries
or Databases from participating sites from three countries. Patient and ED characteristics (using the template for uni-
form reporting) and relevant clinical outcomes were described and compared per country.
Results We included 212,515 ED visits in the Netherlands, 408,673 in Denmark and 556,652 in Australia. Patient
characteristics differed markedly, with Australian ED patients being younger, less often triaged as“immediate”,
and less often triaged with the high-risk chief complaints “feeling unwell” compared to Danish and Dutch patients.
ED characteristics mainly differed with respect to the mean annual census per ED (Netherlands 26,738 (SD 2630),
Denmark 36,675 (SD 12974), Australia 50,712 (4884)), median (IQR) lengths of stay of patients discharged home
(Netherlands 2.1 (1.4–3.1); Denmark 2.8 (1.7–5.0); Australia 3.3 (2.0–5.0) hrs) and proportion of hospitalizations (ranging
from 30.6 to 39.8%).
In-hospital mortality was 4.0% in Australia, higher compared to the Netherlands and Denmark (both 1.6%). Not all
indicators of the framework were available in all registries.
Conclusions Patient and ED characteristics and outcomes varied largely across countries. Meaningful interpreta-
tion of outcome differences across countries could be improved if quality registries would more consistently register
the measures of the recently developed template for uniform reporting.
Keywords Emergency department, Health-care systems, Quality of care, Template for uniform reporting
Background A wide variation of emergency medical system configurations across countries has limited the value
of comparison of quality and performance measures in the past. Furthermore, lack of quantitative data on EDs pre-
vents definition of the problems and possibilities for data driven improvement of quality of care. Therefore, the objec-
tive is to describe and compare Emergency Department (ED) populations and characteristics, and their outcomes
in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia, using a recently developed template for uniform reporting of standard-
ized measuring and describing of care provided in the ED (structure, staffing and governance, population, process
times and outcomes).
Methods This international multicenter cohort included all consecutive ED visits from National Quality Registries
or Databases from participating sites from three countries. Patient and ED characteristics (using the template for uni-
form reporting) and relevant clinical outcomes were described and compared per country.
Results We included 212,515 ED visits in the Netherlands, 408,673 in Denmark and 556,652 in Australia. Patient
characteristics differed markedly, with Australian ED patients being younger, less often triaged as“immediate”,
and less often triaged with the high-risk chief complaints “feeling unwell” compared to Danish and Dutch patients.
ED characteristics mainly differed with respect to the mean annual census per ED (Netherlands 26,738 (SD 2630),
Denmark 36,675 (SD 12974), Australia 50,712 (4884)), median (IQR) lengths of stay of patients discharged home
(Netherlands 2.1 (1.4–3.1); Denmark 2.8 (1.7–5.0); Australia 3.3 (2.0–5.0) hrs) and proportion of hospitalizations (ranging
from 30.6 to 39.8%).
In-hospital mortality was 4.0% in Australia, higher compared to the Netherlands and Denmark (both 1.6%). Not all
indicators of the framework were available in all registries.
Conclusions Patient and ED characteristics and outcomes varied largely across countries. Meaningful interpreta-
tion of outcome differences across countries could be improved if quality registries would more consistently register
the measures of the recently developed template for uniform reporting.
Keywords Emergency department, Health-care systems, Quality of care, Template for uniform reporting
Creator
Bas de Groot1,2*, Nicoline T. C. Meijs3
, Michelle Moscova4
, Wouter Raven3
, Menno I. Gaakeer5
,
Wendy A. M. H. Thijssen6
, Heleen Lameijer7
, Amith Shetty8 and Annmarie T. Lassen9
, Michelle Moscova4
, Wouter Raven3
, Menno I. Gaakeer5
,
Wendy A. M. H. Thijssen6
, Heleen Lameijer7
, Amith Shetty8 and Annmarie T. Lassen9
Source
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-024-00715-0
Date
2024
Contributor
Peri Irawan
Format
pdf
Language
english
Type
text
Files
Collection
Citation
Bas de Groot1,2*, Nicoline T. C. Meijs3
, Michelle Moscova4
, Wouter Raven3
, Menno I. Gaakeer5
,
Wendy A. M. H. Thijssen6
, Heleen Lameijer7
, Amith Shetty8 and Annmarie T. Lassen9, “Characteristics and outcomes of emergency department patients across health care systems: an international multicenter cohort study,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed April 11, 2026, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/12440.