Background To analyze the turnaround times of psychiatric patients within the Emergency Department (ED) from registration to discharge or hospitalization in a University Hospital in 2002. Methods Data from a one-year period of psychiatric admissions to the emergency service at a University Hospital were monitored and analyzed focused on turnaround times within the ED. Information on patients variables such as age, sex, diagnosis, consultations and diagnostic procedures were extracted from the patients' charts. Results From 34.058 patients seen in the ED in 2002, 2632 patients were examined by psychiatrists on duty. Mean turnaround time in the ED was 123 (SD 97) minutes (median 95). Patients to be hospitalized on a psychiatric ward stayed shorter within the ED, patients who later were admitted to another faculty, were treated longer in the ED. Patients with cognitive or substance related disorders stayed longer in the ED than patients with other psychiatric diagnoses. The number of diagnostic procedures and consultations increased the treatment time significantly. Conclusion As the number of patients within the examined ED increases every year, the relevant variables responsible for longer or complicated treatments were assessed in order to appropriately change routine procedures without loss of medical standards. Using this basic data, comparisons with the following years and other hospitals will help to define where the benchmark of turnaround times for psychiatric emergency services might be.
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