Patient Progression: A Hospital-Wide, Multi-Disciplinary, Data-Driven Approach to Moving Patients Safely, Timely &...

High emergency department length of stays (ED LOS), emergency department (ED) crowding and inefficient management of hospital patient throughput can negatively impact patient safety, patient care, and patient satisfaction [1]. In addition, patients who leave an ED without being seen by a medical provider can lead to potentially harmful outcomes. Duke Regional Hospital (DRH) set a strategic priority to improve hospital-wide patient progression. Our goals were to provide safe, efficient and timely movement of patients from admission to discharge. Our additional goal was to decrease patient wait times at transition points. DRH used a multi-disciplinary, data-driven approach to improve hospital-wide patient progression. Hospital staff in multiple departments across various disciplines impacts the moving of patients within a hospital during an admission, from Care Management, to Environmental Service, registered nurses and physicians.