@article{22956,
  author = {Ivers R. and Bein Kendall and Russell Saartje and Muscatello David and Chalkley Dane and Dinh Michael},
  title = {Feeling the HEAT: Using Hourly Emergency Activity Tracking to demonstrate a novel method of describing activity and patient flow.},
  abstract = {<p>
<b>OBJECTIVE: </b>The objective of the present study is to demonstrate a novel method of mapping ED activity to analyse patterns presentations, occupancy and performance trends.
</p>

<p>
<b>METHODS: </b>This was a retrospective, descriptive analysis of de-identified and linked ED presentations across NSW, Australia, over five calendar years, 2010-2014. It was undertaken as part of the Demand for Emergency Services Trend in Years 2010-2014 (DESTINY) study. The DESTINY project analysed 10.8 million presentations during 2010-2014. Hourly Emergency Activity Tracking (HEAT) maps were generated to visually represent and analyse the number of emergency arrivals to ED occupancy and proportion of patients leaving the ED within 4 h per hour of day across consecutive months of the year.
</p>

<p>
<b>RESULTS: </b>HEAT maps provided a means of visually representing ED activity to demonstrate hour-to-hour trends in presentations, occupancy and performance between 2010 and 2014. This analysis has shown that the most marked increase in presentations per hour has occurred during the 10.00-14.00 hour period, associated with an improvement in ED performance during the same period.
</p>

<p>
<b>CONCLUSION: </b>HEAT maps may be used to facilitate further analyses of ED demand, patterns of patient presentations and patient flow and future health system redesign.
</p>
},
  year = {2017},
  journal = {Emerg Med Australas},
  volume = {29},
  pages = {173-177},
  issn = {1742-6723},
  doi = {10.1111/1742-6723.12712},
  language = {eng},
}