The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Apr 2021
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyIs NBATS-2 up to the Task? Actual vs. Predicted Patient Volume Shifts With the Addition of Another Trauma Center.
Version 2 of the Needs-Based Assessment of Trauma Systems (NBATS) tool quantifies the impact of an additional trauma center on a region. This study applies NBATS-2 to a system where an additional trauma center was added to compare the tool's predictions to actual patient volumes. ⋯ NBATS-2 failed to predict the post-period volume changes. Without a change in EMS destination guidelines, this finding was not surprising for severely injured patients. However, the 288% increase in volume of minor injuries was unexpected. NBATS-2 must be refined to assess the impact of local factors on patient volume.