Improvements in Patient Flow Processes

Patient flow refers to how patients enter and leave healthcare organizations. In its simplest form, patient flow involves people checking in, being treated and being released. However, there are myriad factors that affect flow, including the number of hospital beds, doctor time constraints and decisions that must be made about patients. Healthcare organizations are working to create new ways to streamline patient flow processes and improve quality of care.

Bed Meetings

• Bed meetings are simple conferences held in the morning at hospitals to discuss what beds are available in what wings of the building, and how these beds can best be put to use. Patient flow is often controlled by the number of available beds, but nurses and administrators may not always know what beds are or will soon be available, creating logjams and halting flow. Bed meetings keep everyone on the same track.

Expanded Roles

• Nurses are being given expanded roles and responsibilities, allowing them to make decisions regarding patient monitoring, dismissal and transfer, thereby allowing for more immediate responses and better flow. Patients are also being given greater control over their treatment options, which helps make the decision process more expedient.

Timeline Monitoring

• Timeline monitoring is the organized process of analyzing every step of a patient's experience and what happens to patient data throughout that experience. With these monitoring techniques, healthcare organizations can spot steps in data transfer that can be skipped to streamline their entire process. Many of these analysis programs are software-based and can be incorporated in the overall actions of the company.

Punctuality

• Punctuality refers primarily to transferring patients when they are due to leave. Many delays occur because patients are not discharged home or to nursing homes or family care as soon as they are cleared to leave.