What's New | September 29, 2010

Inpatient Flow Strategies

Wait times in hospital emergency departments (EDs) have increased dramatically, with implications for the health and health care of millions of people. Hospitals can use the Input/Throughput/Output Model of Patient Flow

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) to create a work plan for systematically assessing patient flow problems.

The featured Innovations describe three hospital programs that used inpatient flow strategies to solve the problem of patient overcrowding.

Featured Innovations:

• Hospital Integrates Census Management for Disaster Planning Into Operations, Leading to Better Capacity Management and Increased Throughput

• Telephone Nurse Triage System Reduces Use of Emergency Department by Nonurgent Patients, Reducing Wait Times, Length of Stay, and Patient Walkouts

• Transferring Admitted Emergency Department Patients to Hallway Beds Leads to Lower Length of Stay and Higher Patient Satisfaction

Featured QualityTools:

• D2B™: An Alliance for Quality Implementation Manual
Developed by American College of Cardiology

• Hospital Overcrowding
Developed by Stony Brook University Hospital

• Patient Flow Analysis
Developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

View Other Issues

Also in This Issue:

Innovations >

• Integrated System Nearly Doubles Colorectal Cancer Screening Rate Through Distribution of In-home Kit and Followup With Nonresponders

• Pager-Based System Enables Prompt Communication and Acknowledgment of Critical Laboratory Results, Eliminating Thousands of Phone Calls to Physicians

• Real-Time, Color-Coded Alerts Improve Adherence to Pediatric Asthma Guidelines in Primary Care Practices

QualityTools >

• Text4baby
Developed by National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition