“My patients are sicker”: A new patient based complexity score for benchmarking in Emergency Medicine (AAAEM Sponsored)

The data set created through the Annual Emergency Medicine Benchmark Survey conducted by the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) in conjunction with the Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM) sets the benchmark standards for salary, clinical operations, research and education for academic emergency medicine practices and operations. In order to best use benchmark data, it is important for department leaders to compare their performance against like institutions. One significant variable that has not previously been available when building a cohort is the fundamental acuity or “complexity” of the patient population served by the ED. We will report on a new tool that will provide the ability to measure, using patient level data, the complexity of the patient population of any emergency department. The complexity score is developed for each ED based upon patient level information including: co-morbid conditions, social determinants of health, presenting condition and other significant variables of patients presenting to the ED. Benchmarking performance is fundamental to performance improvement: clinical performance improvement, operational improvement or improving performance in research and education. Having the ability to “level the playing field” with a patient complexity score represents an important improvement in benchmarking capability.

Presenters:

Gregory M. Archual, MBA
Alyssa Tyransky, MTDA

Authors

Gregory M. Archual, MBA

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Greg Archual received his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from the University of Akron in 1983 and received his MBA from Ashland University in 1987. Greg also received his Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt certification from Kent State University in 2006.

Greg’s work history includes both manufacturing and healthcare sectors, working for eleven years as an industrial/management engineer with a focus on process improvement and systems engineering. His work experience also includes thirteen years managing an emergency department of a level one trauma center and fifteen years of academic emergency medicine practice management. He is currently Chief Operating Officer and Administrator of the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Ohio State University where he is responsible for the strategic, financial, and operational success of the department’s three missions: clinical, education, and research. Greg is responsible for all operations of the Emergency Medicine department which include: two emergency departments, four advanced urgent cares, an immediate care center, hyperbaric medicine, two clinical decision units, and a Physician Advisor Program. He has served as President of AAAEM and is currently Co-Chair of the Benchmark Committee.
Alyssa Tyransky, MTDA

The Ohio State University

Alyssa Tyransky, MTDA is a data analyst with The Ohio State University and the Benchmarking Surveys and Data Analytics Manager for the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine. Alyssa received her Bachelor's of Science in Biology from The Ohio State University in 2018 and her Masters in Translational Data Analytics from The Ohio State University in 2023.

Alyssa's time at The Ohio State Univesity has focused primarily on faculty productivity scorecards, operational data in the emergency department, and billing and coding. She has also been invovled with the residency program, undergraduate medical education, research, and APP recruitment. Through her time with the benchmarking surveys, the surveys have seen their highest participation among individual departments and institutions in the history of the surveys.