A novel reflective practice intervention improves quality of care in the emergency department

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Traditional emergency department (ED) interventions focus on structural changes.
• This study explored a novel approach using a reflective practice intervention (RPI).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an RPI on the quality of care in an ED setting.
• To assess changes in triage accuracy, patient flow, and clinical outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention design was employed in an Israeli academic ED.
• Ninety-six ED teams and 1920 patient records were analyzed.
• Triage accuracy, time to decision, length of stay, and hospitalization rates were measured.

Main Results:

• Triage accuracy significantly improved post-RPI (p < .001).
• Time to decision, hospitalization rates, and hospital length-of-stay significantly decreased (p < .001, p = .04).

Conclusions:

• Adapting organizational reflective practice principles enhanced ED dynamic environments.
• The RPI demonstrated significant improvements in key ED quality-of-care measures.