Table 1.
Characteristics of participating and nonparticipating hospitals.
| Hospital Characteristics | Participating Hospitals (N=43) | Nonparticipating Hospitals (N=64) |
|---|---|---|
| US Region, n (%) | ||
| Northeast | 20 (46.5) | 25 (39.1) |
| South | 7 (16.3) | 17 (26.6) |
| Midwest | 12 (27.9) | 9 (14.1) |
| West | 4 (9.3) | 13 (20.3) |
| Hospital type,∗ n (%) | ||
| Primary academic | 33 (76.7) | 39 (60.9) |
| Academic affiliate | 10 (23.2) | 25 (39.1) |
| Licensed hospital beds, no., median (IQR) | 664 (404-895) | 519 (224-717) |
| ED treatment spaces, no., median (IQR) | 57 (43-82) | 56 (34-73) |
| Overflow treatment spaces, no., median (IQR) | 10 (6-20) | 8 (4-15) |
| Annual ED volume, no., median (IQR) | ||
| Total arrivals | 58,562 (46,921-67,048) | 57,747 (35,160-74,730) |
| ED admissions | 14,555 (9,348-18,838) | 11,873 (6,941-15,339) |
| ED discharges | 37,292 (29,072-42,338) | 38,931 (24,290-50,091) |
| EMS arrivals, %, median (IQR) | 25.9 (20.2-32.9) | 22.2 (17.6-31.5) |
| Pediatric visits,∗∗ %, median (IQR) | 1.1 (0.1-10.1) | 2.8 (0.6-13.7) |
| LWBS or SAL, %, median (IQR) | 2.8 (1.5-5.3) | 3.1 (1.6-5.4) |
| ED encounters by billing level, %, median (IQR) | ||
| 99281 and 99282 | 2.5 (1.3-5.4) | 4.2 (1.3-8.2) |
| 99283 | 15.3 (7.2-21.2) | 16.3 (6.7-21.6) |
| 99284 | 35.0 (29.3-40.8) | 39.9 (28.7-52.6) |
| 99285 and 99291 | 44.6 (35.7-56.3) | 35.9 (26.3-47.2) |
| ED total lengthofstay, hours, median (IQR) | ||
| All encounters | 6.4 (4.6-8.7) | 5.6 (4.0-7.3) |
| Hospitalizations | 9.2 (6.9-11.1) | 8.8 (6.4-12.4) |
| Discharges | 4.9 (3.9-5.7) | 4.3 (3.4-5.4) |
| ED boarding time,∗∗∗ hours, median (IQR) | 5.2 (3.3-7.2) | 4.1 (2.0-5.8) |
| Payer, %, median (IQR) | ||
| Commercial | 28.5 (23.5-32.6) | 24.2 (20.0-32.5) |
| Medicare | 30.1 (26.5-33.2) | 27.2 (23.0-32.3) |
| Medicaid | 25.3 (17.7-32.6) | 27.1 (19.8-40) |
| Other | 11.1 (6.7-16.3) | 13.3 (9.5-17.7) |
IQR, interquantile range; EMS, emergency medical services; LWBS, left without being seen; SAL, screened- and left.
∗
Primary academic hospitals are defined as the main teaching hospital within the academic department of emergency medicine; academically affiliated hospitals are other hospitals included, managed, and staffed by the academic department.
∗∗
Pediatric visits are defined as any visit by patients younger than 18 years of age.
∗∗∗
ED boarding time is defined as the interval between the time of an inpatient admission or observation order and when the patient left the ED for an inpatient unit.