Emergency Room Patient Fatigue Analysis

Concerns in the area of Emergency Room (ER) physician fatigue are mostly in the areas of patient satisfaction and medical errors, yet many of the concerns regarding quality of care from physicians originate from sleep deprivation. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends 8 hours of sleep per night for an adult (Malik SW, Kaplan J., 2005). Sleep deprivation can be caused by insufficient sleep or disjointed sleep or both. Adults who get fewer than 5 hours of sleep will show a decline in peak alertness (Carskadon MA, Dement WC, 1982). Fatigue among healthcare professionals is a growing concern. According to Merriam-Webster, fatigue is the state of being very tired: extreme weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress (2015).

Physicians are held to a standard of safe and proper delivery of care. Physicians are not only expected to deliver effective care but also satisfy patient’s needs. Reducing fatigue may improve patient care and safety as well as improve health care provider’s performance satisfaction and increase communication. Hospitals can lose federal funding for performing poorly on patient satisfaction surveys. Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is the first national and publicly reported survey of patients perspective of hospital care. This was due to government involvement by Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). The survey results are public so that hospitals will make strides in improving the quality of care.
Medical errors In 2015 the federal agency CMS also rolled out a new 5 star hospital rating system. Many hospitals are not happy stating that the methodologies used may not reflect true and meaningful performance. There are over 3,500 hospitals in the rating system and only 251 U.S. hospitals have a 5 star rating. Even technology and modern medical practices cannot escape sleep deprivation and the medical errors caused by

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