Sleep Faster! (Somebody else needs your blanket…)
Matthew HR Anstey A B F , Stephen P Gildfind C and Eugene Litvak D E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, W/CC 470, Deaconess Rd, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
B Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
C The Alfred Hospital, PO Box 315, Prahran, VIC 3181, Australia. Email: gildfind@gmail.com
D Institute for Healthcare Optimisation, Newton, MA7 Wells Avenue, Suite 24, Newton, MA 02459, USA. Email: elitvak@ihoptimize.org
E Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
F Corresponding author. Email: manstey@bidmc.harvard.edu
Australian Health Review 36(3) 244-247 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH11063
Submitted: 26 June 2011 Accepted: 9 February 2012 Published: 27 July 2012
Journal Compilation © AHHA 2012
Abstract
One of the elements of the health reform plan, as agreed to by Australian state and federal governments, is to introduce a 4-h National Access Target, to reduce emergency department (ED) waiting times. This article highlights the flawed rationale behind the 4-h rule, the UK experience of this rule and discusses the potential dangers it poses to Australian patients. An alternative solution proposed is the separation of elective and emergency surgical streams to reduce the variability in demand for inpatient services.
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