An Investigation into Demographic Disparities in Emergency Department Disposition Decisions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cheng, Qian; Argon, Nilay T.; Evans, Christopher S.; Lin, Peter; Linthicum, Benjamin; Liu, Yufeng; Mehrotra, Abhishek; Patel, Mehul D.; Ziya, Serhan
• 署名单位: University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina; East Carolina University; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1177/10591478241235000
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 689-697
• 关键词: Health disparities; healthcare operations; emergency department; disposition decisions; crowding

摘要

We investigate the presence of health disparities in emergency department (ED) disposition decisions and if crowding levels might have an exacerbating role. Using data from a large, academic ED, we find statistically significant associations between ED disposition decisions and patient sex, race, as well as ethnicity, with male, Caucasian, and non-Hispanic patients being more likely to be admitted to the hospital compared with, respectively, female, African-American, and Hispanic patients. In line with earlier findings in other studies, we find that longer waiting times, suggesting higher levels of ED crowding, is associated with higher rates of admission. Moreover, longer ED wait times modified sex differences, suggesting that the disposition disparity in female patients might be exacerbated when the ED is more crowded.