NCT00497393

Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) - Evaluation of a Novel Approach to Address Emergency Department Overcrowding

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 6,217 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Alberta · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This randomized controlled trial will introduce a Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) into the University of Alberta Hospital Emergency Department(ED)and assess the influence on ED length of stay, patients who leave without being seen, and other ED Overcrowding outcomes.

Detailed description

The study will take place over a 6-week period that will be spilt into three-two-week blocks. Using computerized blocks of 2 weeks, days of the week will be randomly allocated so that each day of the week receives one intervention (CDU) and one control day for the study period. The CDU involves transforming an ED bed location to a 6-chair internal waiting room with 2 adjacent beds assigned to act as assessment and treatment locations. Patients will transition between the chair and stretcher to optimize the use of ED space.

Conditions

• Acute Illness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Clinical Decision Unit	a dedicated 2-bed area to see patients and then rotate them back into the waiting room area for labs and diagnostic imaging.

Timeline

• Start date: 2007-07-01
• Primary completion: 2007-08-01
• Completion: 2007-12-01
• First posted: 2007-07-06
• Last updated: 2008-09-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada