What is an Episode of Care vs. a Presentation?

A Presentation = someone who arrives to ED during that period (e.g. today)

An Episode of Care = someone who is in ED being treated during that period (regardless of when they arrived)

So, a Presentation is counted on arrival.
An Episode of Care is counted while they are still being managed in ED.

At the start of the day, ED will still have patients in the department from the day before.

So across any given 24-hour period:

Presentations = new people arriving today
Episodes of Care = people presenting today plus people still in ED from yesterday

Episodes of Care (24 hours) = Patients in ED at midnight + Presentations that day

Example:

→ Episodes of Care = 12 + 165 = 177

Different components and charts use different denominators.

When looking at workload, crowding, or acuity mix → Episodes of Care gives a more accurate view of how many people ED actually treated
When looking at demand and arrivals → Presentations is the right metric because it shows new inflow

Term	What it counts	When it counts
Presentations	New people arriving at ED	Arrival time
Episodes of Care	All people being treated in ED	Any time within that report period

There are two related but different measures used to describe ED activity – Presentations and Episodes of Care.