Reducing the Length of Stay by Enhancing the Patient Discharge Process: Using Quality Improvement Tools to Optimize...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement Science
• Hospital Operations

Background:

• Delays in patient discharge negatively impact hospital efficiency and patient flow.
• Optimizing patient discharge is a critical goal for hospital management and research.
• This study examined admission volume and length of stay (LOS) in a tertiary care center to identify discharge delay factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and manage reasons for delayed patient discharges from medical specialties.
• To explore practical approaches for reducing LOS in a tertiary care setting.
• To evaluate the impact of a quality improvement intervention on discharge processes.

Main Methods:

• Collected admission and discharge data from 2016-2018.
• Implemented a FOCUS-PDSA (plan, do, study, act) quality improvement method in 2017.
• Set specific, measurable annual targets for discharge process improvement.

Main Results:

• Mean LOS decreased significantly from 9.16 to 7.47 days between 2016 and 2018 (p < 0.001).
• Readmission rates and mortality rates significantly decreased post-intervention.
• The intervention demonstrated an improvement in the quality of treatment and admission/discharge processes.

Conclusions:

• Quality improvement interventions can effectively reduce patient LOS.
• Multidisciplinary committees involving healthcare personnel are crucial for optimizing discharge.
• Facilitating optimal discharge mechanisms requires leveraging available hospital resources and services.