Staffing and Provider Productivity in the Emergency Department

Staffing and productivity are key concepts to understand when managing an emergency department. Provider productivity is not static, starts out high, and decreases throughout the shift in a stepwise manner. It is commonly measured by patients per hour or relative value units per hour, and is impacted by factors from the presence of residents to shift length. Appropriate staffing requires thorough understanding of the work-force and the variable patient demand of the department. Matching capacity to this demand potentially improves overall throughput and efficiency. Once knowledgeable about these factors, we provide a case study to showcase their application.