Australian researchers have developed a computer program which is able to accurately predict how many patients can be expected to turn up at hospital emergency departments and their expected medical needs and also promises to reduce bottlenecks in emergency departments.
The software package, developed by the Australian e-Health Research Centre, the 'Patient Admission Prediction Tool' (PAPT), is the result of a collaboration between clinicians from Gold Coast and Toowoomba Hospitals, Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology and will enable emergency departments to manage bed space appropriately.
The program has already been trialled at Southport, Robina and Toowoomba Hospitals over the past 12 months and there have been reports of 90% accuracy in predicting the number of patients presenting at the hospitals emergency departments.
Dr. David Hansen, the research director of the Australian e-Health Research Centre, says PAPT will allow emergency admission departments to predict the number of beds needed which will lead to better bed management of the whole system.
Dr. Hansen says the system will hopefully be trialled in the Townsville Hospital in the coming weeks in order to ensure staff have confidence in using the program and are accessing the right data to achieve better planning of hospital resources.