Ambulance Offload Time—Time From Patient/Ambulance Arrival to Transfer of Care to Emergency Department Staff

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Canada
Publishing Organisation
Development of Quality Indicators for Older Persons’ Transitions across Care Settings
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Access / Waiting Times

Defining Attributes

Definition

Ambulance offload time—time from patient/ambulance arrival to transfer of care to ED staff

Numerator

Time from patient/ambulance arrival to transfer of care to ED staff

Denominator

This is a continuous variable measure. The target population is people transferred from ambulance to Emergency Department (inferred).

Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Data Collection Methods
Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Evidence Source

Tate K, Lee S, Rowe BH, Cummings GE, Holroyd-Leduc J, Reid RC, El-Bialy R, Bakal J, Estabrooks CA, Anderson C, & Cummings GG. (2022). Quality Indicators for Older Persons’ Transitions in Care: A Systematic Review and Delphi Process. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 41(1), 40–54. doi.org/10.1017/S0714980820000446 Schull, M. J., Guttmann, A., Leaver, C. A., Vermeulen, M., Hatcher, C. M., Rowe, B. H., et al. (2011). Prioritizing performance measurement for emergency department care: consensus on evidence-based quality of care indicators. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 13(5), 300–309.

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
No
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025