Assessing trauma patient's waiting time and its associated factors referred to an emergency department

Objective (s): One of the indicators used in evaluating the emergency department is patient’s waiting time for receiving diagnostic services and treatment. This study aimed to determine trauma patients'' waiting time referred to an emergency department. In this cross-sectional study، a sample of trauma patients referred to an emergency department affiliated to Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in Hamadan، Iran were studied using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a designed questionnaire and explored by performing descriptive statistics. In all 391trauma patients were studied. 79. 5% of trauma patients referred in evening and more than half of participants attended themselves to the emergency department. The mean waiting time to be visited by a general physician was 3. 9 minutes. The mean waiting time to be visited by a resident and intern was 77. 1 minutes and 88. 9 minutes respectively. Delay time for performing the first consultation was 35 minutes. 35% of delay was related to lack of guide boards، and 47. 3% and 33% of factors were related to lack of personnel for per forming services and that patients were agitated، respectively. Waiting time for trauma patients was more than the standard. Indeed reducing waiting time in emergency departments is essential.