Document Type

A3

Publication Date

10-2018

Institution/Department

Internal Medicine, Maine Medical Center

MeSH Headings

algorithms, hospital, discharge, emergency department, academic medical center, patient care, root cause, goals, readmission

Abstract

CREATING ALGORITHMS TO INCREASE THE NUMBERS OF HOSPITAL MORNING DISCHARGES RESULTING IN IMPROVED PATIENT FLOW

Discharging a percentage of patients early in the day helps to improve patient flow. This results in a reduction of Emergency Department congestion as well as peaks in patient numbers in the early to late afternoon on patient care units.

A cardiac unit in an academic tertiary medical center created a goal to increase the number of their discharges by 11 AM and to streamline key discharge planning activities. A root cause analysis was initiated and after identifying several barriers, two KPIs were developed using improvement measures of operational excellence. Post KPI inception, metric goals were exceeded within the established timeline.

Next steps include reviewing DRG specific readmission rates to make sure there are no negative impacts as a result of the established countermeasures. In addition, the unit will provide coaches for other care units interested in adopting these strategies.

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