ED Patient Experience: Does Day of the Week or Time of the Day Matter?

Abstract

The effect of the arrival day of the week, arrival time of the day, or discharge time of the day on emergency department (ED) patient experience (PE) scores has not been well studied. We performed a retrospective analysis of ED patients between July 1st, 2018 through March 31st, 2021. We recorded demographics, PE scores, arrival day, arrival and discharge times, and total ED and perceived ED times. We performed univariate and multivariable analyses. We sent 49,849 surveys and received back 2423 that we included in our study. The responding patients’ median age was 52, with a majority of female gender (62%) and white race (57%). The average arrival time was 1:40 PM, and the average discharge time 2:38 PM. The average total ED time was 261 minutes, while the average perceived ED time was 540 minutes. We found a statistical association between worse PE scores and longer actual ED time but not longer perceived time. A later arrival time was significantly associated with worse PE scores on 4 out of 6 domains of the PE questionnaire. The discharge time and the day of the week were not significantly associated with PE scores. Conclusion: Actual longer ED time was significantly associated with worse PE scores, but not perceived time. Later arrival time was associated with worse PE scores, but not later discharge time. The arrival day of the week was not statistically associated with differences in PE. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.