Improving the Discharge Process to Optimize Patient Throughput in an Academic Teaching Hospital and Level I Trauma Center

Abstract

Limited resources and capacity constraints force Ben Taub General Hospital (BTGH) to optimize patient throughput in order to minimize Emergency Center overcrowding and ambulance diversions. The purpose of this study was to identify impeding systematic delays in the patient discharge process, quantify the extent of the delays, and recommend performance improvement initiatives for the BTGH to expedite bed turnaround times. A pilot study was conducted on two medicine and two surgery inpatient nursing units to analyze bed turnaround times and discharge times of day. The results revealed that only 12% of all discharges occurred before noon, the industry standard. The results indicated numerous opportunities for improvement exist throughout the discharge process that may have a profound impact on overall patient flow through BTGH.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 22, 2004
Accession Number
ADA444232

Entities

People

  • S. E. Elarton

Organizations

  • Ben Taub General Hospital

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ambulances
  • Contracts
  • Education
  • Emergencies
  • Executives
  • Health
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Information Science
  • Medical Personnel
  • Patient Care
  • Pilot Studies
  • Public Health
  • Social Sciences
  • Spreadsheet Software
  • Standards
  • Throughput

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Economics
  • Trauma or Military Medicine