Characteristics of Patients Who Leave Emergency Departments without Being Seen

Abstract

The most common reason for LWBS is impatience during peak ED periods. Many of these patients seek medical care within one week. Complications occurred rarely; however, "high-risk" patients who leave without being seen do experience adverse health outcomes. Further research is required to examine ways to reduce LWBS cases.

‘Did not waits’: A regional Australian emergency department experience

“…This is consistent with DNW rates reported by other, more urban Australian EDs, 8,9,15,16 and in the low-middle of the <1% to 20% DNW rates reported for EDs in Taiwan, 17 the USA, 6,14 England 18 and Canada. 11,19,20 In contrast, a recent study from a large DID NOT WAITS regional teaching hospital ED in south east Queensland, Australia, reported a DNW rate of 10.7%, 21 which is more than double our rate and the highest in Queensland. 22 In our study, most DNWs occurred on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings, corresponding to our busiest days.…”

Uncompleted Emergency Department Care: Patients Who Leave against Medical Advice

“…The two types of uncompleted visits are patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) by a physician and patients who leave the ED against medical advice (AMA). There is a growing literature on patients who LWBS, [1][2][3][4][5][6] perhaps because patients who LWBS are more common than patients who leave AMA, and LWBS visits are associated with ED crowding. [7][8][9][10] In a nationally representative sample of hospital EDs in 2005, among patients aged 18 years and older who lived in metropolitan areas, approximately 2% LWBS and 1% left AMA.…”

Emergency Department Performance Measures and Benchmarking Summit

“…18 Other studies have followed, and the trend of tracking the larger category of patients who leave without being seen has continued. [19][20][21][22][23] ''People Who Left Before They Were Supposed To''. The language used to describe and monitor this population needs to be tied to specific, predictable events in every patient encounter across the industry.…”