St. Mary's Hospital Implements PA in Triage
St. Mary's Hospital in Troy, New York, has made a significant improvement to patient throughput in the Emergency Department (ED). By instituting a PA in triage for the highest volume times, the ED has seen a dramatic decrease in patients who leave without being seen and a big jump in patient satisfaction.
Some of the effects of this change have been to:
- Make initial provider contacts with all patients so they are seen quickly. Often from triage, this can be done within minutes of arrival.
- Immediately place orders, including CT scans, ultrasound, x-ray, blood work, etc. For example, a recent patient with abdominal pain was sent by the PA from triage straight to CT and had a diagnosis of acute appendicitis in 26 minutes.
- See quick level 4/5 patient directly in triage and discharge them within minutes of arrival, thus decompressing Fast Track and allowing patients to flow much more quickly through the ED.
Since implementing the triage PA, the ED is averaging 0.2% of patients left without being seen per day, compared to 1-3% per day prior to the change. Patient satisfaction scores have increased an incredible 20 percent, and door-to-provider times have dropped to around 30 minutes. ED administrators report that the overall length of stay has also dramatically decreased, although hard numbers are yet to come.
Adding this triage PA position in the Emergency Department, St. Mary's Hospital has demonstrated a deep commitment to reducing patient wait times, expediting diagnoses, and improving the overall patient experience-goals consistent with the Pegasus mission.