Reducing LWBS with More Efficient Point-of-Care Testing

On average, patients who visit the emergency department wait almost 2.5 hours to be seen by a physician. Unfortunately, those triaged with non-urgent medical matters may wait even longer.

The number of patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) is rising and has reached as high as 10% in some areas. LWBS metrics are often used as a quality measure in emergency departments. When too many patients LWBS, it indicates emergency medical systems are failing to provide access to healthcare for these individuals. For care providers, this can impact accreditation and reimbursement.

Nearly 25% of patients who LWBS return to the ED within one week. Of those patients, over 11% are hospitalized for additional care. Many of these individuals are leaving the ED, despite the need for medical care.

Why Do Patients Leave the ED Without Being Seen?

Complex systemic issues have led to lengthy wait times in emergency rooms nationwide.

Logistical bottlenecks, limited resources, and understaffing take away valuable time that could be better allocated to patient care. Sub-optimal nursing staff levels negatively impact ED throughput metrics, including increased door-to-discharge minutes and LWBS numbers.

Additionally, a lack of alternative care options exacerbates the inappropriate use of emergency departments resulting in high patient traffic. Emergency departments are often used as a substitute for primary care, to manage chronic conditions, or resolve milder health issues.

Reasons patients come to the ED for non-urgent medical needs include:

• Being located in decentralized, low socioeconomic, or rural areas with little access to community-based care
• Only seeking care for a condition or injury as a last resort due to financial concerns or lack of insurance
• Seeing the ED as a means to quicker care
• Not being able to get an appointment with a primary care or specialist provider in a timely manner
• Capitalizing on ED resources like medical care and diagnostics in a single location
• Seeking care outside of typical medical office hours due to work or other time constraints

How Does POCT Reduce LWBS?

HemoScreen™ from PixCell Medical is the only FDA-approved CBC analyzer designed for point-of-care testing (POCT), making it the optimal device to have in any emergency department.

As the only device of its kind, it leverages advanced imaging and AI technology to deliver a complete blood count panel and 5-part WBC differential in just a few minutes. It is portable, easy to use, and provides lab-grade blood analysis.

In the current healthcare climate, emergency departments are more crowded and have less staff to manage the high volumes. PixCell Medical’s state-of-the-art equipment can reduce the average ED length of stay and improve other ED quality metrics.

Here are three ways HemoScreen can improve patient throughput and reduce LWBS rates.

1. Re-Prioritization of Resources

The simple cartridge platform quickly and efficiently collects and analyzes blood samples and can be done at the bedside. This system reduces the burden on the time and attention of your skilled staff.

When looking at side-by-side scenarios, a nurse using HemoScreen can have results back on multiple patients by the time another nurse has collected, labeled, and sent off a single sample to the lab for analysis using standard laboratory methods.

A one-hour increase in average ED length-of-stay (LOS) results in a nearly 1.5% increase in LWBS. Emergency departments can reduce the total time in the ED with HemoScreen at the bedside. As a result, providers can spend their time, energy, and expertise on direct patient care and reduce patient volume, leaving fewer opportunities for patients to leave without medical care.

2. Faster Patient Care Decisions

On-site laboratories associated with hospitals and emergency departments can take hours to return results. Faster results allow for more immediate medical decisions and life-saving care.

HemoScreen gives physicians access to valuable real-time data within minutes. If reduced lab processing time can decrease LOS, then POC blood analysis will also help emergency providers improve patient throughput in the ED and reduce LWBS rates.

Rapid, accurate POCT virtually eliminates concerns for variable turnaround times, errors, or other logistic issues related to on-site labs.

3. Automated Processes

HemoScreen’s cartridge system is easy to use and requires only minimal training. Unlike traditional laboratory methods, managing reagents and regular machine maintenance and calibration are unnecessary.

All components, including reagents, are already pre-prepared within each cartridge. The analysis begins automatically once a sample is inserted. Once analysis is complete, the cartridges are discarded after use, and the machine is ready again for immediate use. If something ever goes wrong, troubleshooting is as simple as running another cartridge.

Optimize your Emergency Department

Experience fewer patients LWBS by delivering faster care to more patients in your emergency department without compromising on the quality of the service. With fast, accurate results and a portable design, HemoScreen offers powerful support to emergency departments looking to reduce their LWBS before delays can affect accreditation and patient care.

Contact us to learn how to avoid delays, errors, and mismanagement of valuable time and resources with HemoScreen technology.

(*) Please note: training must be defined by local, state and federal regulations. In the USA, training is defined for CLIA moderate complexity devices.