The obvious solution hospitals aren't using to improve patient outcomes

The problem of crowded emergency rooms isn't just an inconvenience for patients — it can actually harm them. But a newly released George Washington University study found some of the most crowded U.S. hospital emergency rooms aren't doing much to prioritize the problem. Published this week in Health Affairs, the study found nearly one in five of the most crowded emergency rooms did not use bedside registration, one of the proven interventions used to address high volumes of patients. Looking at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2007 to 2010, the study also found nearly all of the most crowded emergency departments did not use proven scheduling tactics to plan surgeries to match inpatient bed availability.