Reduced left-without-being-seen rates and impact on disparities after guest services ambassadors implementation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The rate of patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) from an emergency department (ED) is a common measurement of quality, operational efficiency, and patient satisfaction. We hypothesized that adding a nonclinical staff role, guest service ambassadors (GSA), to the ED waiting room would decrease LWBS rates and reduce existing differences by race, ethnicity, sex, and primary language for ED patients.

Methods

We conducted an observational cohort study at a quaternary care academic ED in the Midwestern United States with approximately 60,000 annual visits between April and December 2022. GSAs were trained to guide patients and visitors through the check-in process and help manage the waiting room. LWBS rates were compared between pre- and postimplementation peri

SUBMITTER: Wing SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11921064 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature