Survivor: ED Island

Session
Emergency Services

Authors
Jenny Beam
Performance Engineer
Premier, Inc - Baptist Hospital East

Shawn Rhodes
Performance Engineer
Premier, Inc - Hardin Memorial Hospital

Description
Part one consists of a process improvement project at Hardin Memorial Hospital examining LOS, capacity, staffing, and process flow. Part two of this session will focus on a study of high and low performers in patient satisfaction and productivity. Stratified results are presented as a case for change.

Abstract
Streamlined processes are essential in reducing LOS and TAT. Hardin Memorial Hospital has completed a process improvement initiative for the triage process. Analyses were conducted on capacity, ED LOS, arrivals by time of day, staffing, and workload volumes. Line and bar graphs are used to illustrate results. A process map of the patient flow process was completed to identify bottlenecks in the process. Major improvements recommended are changes in physical layout, process improvements, and changes in scheduling.

Hospitals in a benchmarking database were stratified by performance in two areas: patient satisfaction and productivity. Hospitals having patient satisfaction scores of greater than 90 percent and lower than 41 percent were evaluated to determine key operational differences (i.e. what makes hospitals with greater than 90 percent patient satisfaction different than those with low scores). The same evaluations was completed for hospitals with high and low productivity. Results are presented in a format that conference attendees can utilize as a case for change within their own organizations. Major findings are that length of stay and turn around time are the major factors influencing patient satisfaction.