J Emerg Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
EMDOC (Emergency Department overcrowding) Internet-based safety net research.
Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is a national crisis with few prospective data to document its occurrence. The objective of this study was to prospectively collect data on variables involved in Emergency Department overcrowding (EMDOC) using an Internet-based data entry model. A prospective observational Internet-based study involving 18 hospitals over a 13-month period was designed. ⋯ The mean number of makeshift beds was 3.1. There was no single variable that was noted to define or predict overcrowding. Documentation of factors involved in ED overcrowding found that overcrowding was not just an ED problem, but a problem that occurs due to overcrowding in the entire institution.