Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Emergency departments throughout the nation are experiencing crowding related to increased patient volumes and decreased hospital inpatient bed capacity. As a result of lengthy wait times, patients are leaving without having medical treatment, and satisfaction is poor. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was placing a provider in triage to complement the existing split-flow process aimed to decrease wait times to see a provider, length of stay (LOS), left without being seen (LWBS) rates, and improve patient satisfaction. ⋯ The project showed that the evidence-based practice of a combined split-flow and provider-in-triage model resulted in improvements in throughput for patients who were treated and released from the emergency department.