A Systematic Review of the Causes, Consequences, and Solutions of Emergency Department Overcrowding in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aims to investigate and address the issue of emergency department (ED) overcrowding, a significant problem worldwide. The study seeks to understand the impacts of ED overcrowding on emergency medical healthcare services and patient outcomes. This systematic review follows the PRISMA flow diagram and the guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook. We systematically reviewed the causes and solutions of emergency department overcrowding. We went through Google Scholar, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the British Medical Journal, Science Direct, Ovid, Cochrane, the Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, Medline, and PubMed as databases. Our criteria were articles done in Saudi Arabia from 2012 to 2022. One hundred and ninety-six (196) research papers were extracted; only 28 articles met our paper inclusion-exclusion criteria. The result of these papers regarding causes, consequences, and solutions was that non-urgent and returned visits lacked knowledge of PHC, triad, and telemedicine services. Prolonged LOS is due to slow bed turnover, laboratory and consultation time, and physical response to the final decision resulting in burnout staff, wrong diagnoses, and management plans. The crowding issues can be resolved by awareness, PHC access, triad systems, and technological and telemedicine services. High demand for emergency treatment should not be a hindrance to quality treatment. Physical, technological, and strategic measures should be put in place to fight the crowding problem in EDs in Saudi Arabia, as it may cause adverse effects such as transmission of diseases and death of patients.