Abstract
Urgent Care Clinics are a rapid growing sector of healthcare providing convenient access for acute care needs. This convenient care model with lower cost than going to an emergency department has led to increased volumes and longer wait times. The added demand on urgent care clinics, calls for a way to rapidly identify emergency symptoms and patients who require transfer to a higher level of care. This quality improvement project tested the effects of an Emergent Symptom Identification Intake Form on time from patient registration to provider evaluation and overall throughput time for individuals requiring transfer to the emergency department. An intake form was designed by the doctoral student and implemented in a single urgent care clinic in the Midwest. During the four-week implementation period, staff completed clinical intake utilizing the new form, patients who screen positive for emergency symptoms or abnormal vital signs were given immediate room and evaluation from the provider. Results of the study showed a small decrease in mean time in minutes from registration to provider evaluation, pre-intervention (M = 35.7, SD = 29) compared to intervention (M = 33.3, SD = 23.7). The difference did not yield a statistically significant change, (t (46) = 0.32, p = 0.75). There was a noted increase in time from registration to transfer to the emergency room, pre-intervention (M = 60, SD = 33.7) versus intervention (M = 67.1, SD = 33.5). This was also determined to not be statistically significant, (t (46) = 0.74, p = 0.46). Although the findings were not statistically significant, the clinical impact warranted support of additional research on this topic.
Sigma Membership
Unknown
Lead Author Affiliation
Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Type
DNP Capstone Project
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Urgent Care, Triage, Emergency Transfers, Throughput Time, Evaluation
Advisor
Hall, Lyndsi
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Nebraska Methodist College
Degree Year
2024
Recommended Citation
Van Meeteren, Jennifer, "Emergent symptom identification intake form for the urgent care clinic" (2024). Group: Nebraska Methodist College. 84.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_nmc/84
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
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Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Self-submission
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
Doctoral Scholarly Project: Quality Improvement Project examining the effects of an emergent symptom identification intake tool on the time from registration to provider evaluation and emergency room transfer in the urgent care clinic.