Utah ACEP Disputes Press Ganey Statistic on Length of Stay in Utah ERs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Utah chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians today said the recently released Press Ganey Pulse Report uses an inaccurate statistic for the average length of stay for emergency patients in Utah, saying the actual length of stay is less than half that reported by Press Ganey.

Utah ACEP's Chapter President, Brian Oliver, M.D., issued a statement:

"The data I found on about 80 percent of Utah's emergency patients in 2009 paints a very different picture.  I found an average length of stay of 209 minutes, which would rank Utah in the top 15 states nationally.  Furthermore, I discussed this with emergency physicians in more than half of Utah's emergency departments, and they report an average length of stay for their patients well below what Press Ganey reports.

"Because Press Ganey has limited access to the not-for-profit hospital system Intermountain Healthcare that serves over 65 percent of all the patients in Utah, they are not able to make an accurate assessment of how long patients are in our emergency departments.  By putting forth a report based on incomplete data, Press Ganey diminishes both the accuracy and the impact of their findings.

"I would never argue that an average length of stay in the emergency department of more than three hours is optimal – far from it.  ACEP has raised the alarm for years now about the deleterious effect long wait times are having on patient care.  

"However, it is unfair for a national report to malign an entire geographic area based on questionable data.  ACEP's Report Card on the State of Emergency Medicine in 2009, while acknowledging the many problems in Utah's emergency care system, ranked Utah tenth in the country overall.  

"As advocates for our patients, we continue to work hard at the state and national level to improve access to emergency care for everyone.  Everyone is only one step away from a medical emergency."

ACEP is a national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies. 

SOURCE American College of Emergency Physicians