Inpatient flow management: a systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Operations Research
• Hospital Administration

Background:

• Patient flow disruptions impact hospital system efficiency.
• Current research often overemphasizes emergency units, neglecting system-wide inpatient flow.
• Holistic management is crucial for continuous care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and evaluate system-wide patient flow management studies.
• To identify interventions that effectively improve inpatient patient flow.
• To address the gap in research on comprehensive hospital patient flow.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed and Web of Science.
• Two-stage selection and classification of full-text articles.
• Focus on inpatient settings and intervention impact on patient flow.

Main Results:

• 107 studies were selected, with fewer on inpatient than emergency settings.
• 61 intervention studies identified, primarily focused on resource addition.
• Arrival variability significantly affects patient flow.
• Employing dedicated teams for patient flow and bed management showed the most promise.

Conclusions:

• This study offers a novel systematic overview of patient flow management in inpatient settings.
• Highlights the need for efficient use of existing capacity.
• Emphasizes the importance of coordinated patient flow strategies across hospital units.