nedocs_score: NEDOCS Score for Emergency Department Overcrowding

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

NEDOCS Score for Emergency Department Overcrowding

Description

Calculates the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Scale (NEDOCS) score. This tool quantifies the degree of overcrowding in an emergency department at a specific point in time using operational variables such as patient volume, bed capacity, and wait times.

Usage

nedocs_score(total_patients_ed, total_ed_beds, admits_in_ed, total_hospital_beds,
             ventilated_patients_ed, longest_admit_time_hrs,
             wait_time_last_patient_hrs)

Arguments

total_patients_ed	Numeric. Total number of patients currently in the ED (including those in beds, hallways, and the waiting room).
total_ed_beds	Numeric. Total number of licensed ED treatment beds.
admits_in_ed	Numeric. Number of patients in the ED admitted to the hospital but waiting for a bed.
total_hospital_beds	Numeric. Total number of licensed hospital beds.
ventilated_patients_ed	Numeric. Number of patients currently on ventilators in the ED.
longest_admit_time_hrs	Numeric. Time (in hours) the longest-waiting admitted patient has been in the ED.
wait_time_last_patient_hrs	Numeric. Waiting time (in hours) from arrival to bed placement for the last patient placed in a bed.

Value

A list containing:

NEDOCS_Score	The calculated score (Range 0-200).
Status	Classification of overcrowding severity (e.g., Not Busy, Overcrowded, Disaster).

References

Weiss SJ, Derlet R, Arndahl J, et al. Estimating the degree of emergency department overcrowding in academic medical centers: results of the National ED Overcrowding Study (NEDOCS). Acad Emerg Med. 2004;11(1):38-50. doi:10.1197/j.aem.2003.07.017

Examples

# Example 1: Busy ED
# 35 patients, 30 beds, 4 admits, 400 hospital beds, 0 vents, 4h wait admit, 1h last bed
# Score = -20 + 85.8(1.16) + 600(0.01) + 0 + 0.93(4) + 5.64(1) = ~95 (Overcrowded)
nedocs_score(35, 30, 4, 400, 0, 4, 1)

# Example 2: Disaster Level
# 60 patients, 30 beds, 15 admits, 400 hospital beds, 2 vents, 12h wait admit, 3h last bed
# Score = -20 + 85.8(2) + 600(0.0375) + 13.4(2) + 0.93(12) + 5.64(3) = ~229 -> Capped at 200
nedocs_score(60, 30, 15, 400, 2, 12, 3)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.