Effect of a pager notification system on Australasian Triage Scale category 2 patients in a paediatric emergency department

Abstract

Objective: Australasian EDs have introduced innovative processes to ensure safe and timely management of patients. Our ED introduced a dedicated pager system to provide rapid assessment of Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) category 2 patients in an attempt to expedite ED care. The present paper aims to evaluate the impact of this initiative on time to clinician, ED length of stay (LOS) and clinical outcomes in a tertiary paediatric ED. Methods: Retrospective structured chart review on patients presenting in a 2 month period before the intervention (August–September 2009) and the same time 1 year later. Patients were grouped into common ATS category 2 presentations and analysed in these subcate..