CJEM
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Emergency department (ED) crowding compromises patient outcomes. Existing crowding measures are complex and difficult to use in real-time. This study evaluated readily available single flow variables as crowding measures. ⋯ ED occupancy as a single measure has similar predictive accuracy to complex crowding scores and is easily generalizable to diverse emergency departments. Real-time tracking of this simple indicator could be used to prompt investigation and implementation of crowding interventions.
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The primary objective of this study is to identify emergency physician reported barriers to initiating patients on buprenorphine/naloxone in the emergency department (ED) for treatment of opioid use disorder. Secondary objectives include (1) physician reported attitudes about initiating buprenorphine/naloxone in the ED, and (2) comparison of barriers reported based on urban versus rural practice setting. ⋯ In this convenience sample of physicians working in urban and rural Canadian emergency departments, most physicians perceive barriers that inhibit their ability to initiate buprenorphine/naloxone for patients with opioid use disorder, but overall there is support for making changes to better facilitate this practice.