Ophthalmology Outcomes
Emergency Department
The Emergency Department at Mass Eye and Ear provides 24/7 urgent ophthalmic care for the local community and for patients who are referred to Mass Eye and Ear from throughout the region. The department works closely with Mass General Hospital's Emergency Department to co-manage and coordinate care for patients with ophthalmic problems.
Learn more about the Emergency DepartmentAverage Monthly Ophthalmology Emergency Visits by Year
This bar graph shows the average number of Ophthalmology initial encounters seen monthly by the Mass Eye and Ear Emergency Department across the last 10 calendar years.
There was a significant decrease in volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic.1
The Mass Eye and Ear Emergency Department has a lower LWBS rate compared to national benchmarks.
The Emergency Department bounce back rate in calendar year 2023 was 20.82%. This rate serves as an approximation of the rate at which patients come back to the ED within one week of initial exam. * This includes scheduled and unscheduled return visits.
*This is calculated as the number of ED follow-up visits (n = 3,904) divided by the number of initial visits (n = 18,754). Visits are generally designated as follow-up if they occur within one week of a prior visit. Of note, given limits of a calendar year, not all numerator patients may be included in the denominator.
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Average Monthly Ophthalmology Emergency Visits by Year
1. Moon JY, Miller JB, Katz R, Ta T, Szypko C, Garg I, Lorch AC, Gardiner MF, Armstrong GW. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ophthalmic Care at an Eye-Specific Emergency Department in an Outbreak Hotspot. Clin Ophthalmol. 2020 Dec 1;14:4155-4163.
Ophthalmology “Left Without Being Seen” (LWBS) Rate
1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Improving Patient Flow and Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: A Guide for Hospitals. 2018.
2. Pham JC, Ho GK, Hill PM, et al. National study of patient, visit and hospital characteristics associated with leaving an emergency department without being seen: predicting LWBS. Acad Emerg Med 2009; 16(10): 949–955.
3. Hsia RY, Asch SM, Weiss RE, et al. Hospital determinants of emergency department left without being seen rates. Ann Emerg Med 2011; 58(1): 24-32.e3.
4. Handel DA, Fu R, Daya M, et al. The use of scripting at triage and its impact on elopements. Acad Emerg Med 2010; 17(5): 495-500.
5. Li DR, Brennan JJ, Kreshak AA, et al. Patients who leave the emergency department without being seen and their follow-up behavior: a retrospective descriptive analysis. J Emerg Med 2019; 57(1): 106-113.
