Reduction of hospital bed cost for inpatient overstay through optimisation of patient flow

Overstay of inpatients is a big challenge to healthcare systems which interferes with the proper utilisation of the available resources and efficient delivery of care. Unnecessary days in the hospital may lead to patient complications including healthcare-associated infections, falls and delirium, which can negatively impact both patient and staff experience. This project aimed to reduce the cost of bed days of inpatient overstay through facilitating the discharge process using a multidisciplinary intervention approach.

The root causes of inpatient overstay were defined via a multidisciplinary approach. This project applied the extension Deming Cycle method: Find-Organise-Clarify-Understand-Study-Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). Solutions to the root causes which led to process variation were implemented through three PDCA cycles conducted between January 2019 and July 2020.

There was a significant reduction in the total number of overstay inpatients, the total number of overstay days, and the related bed costs in the first 3 quarters of 2019. A significant and sustained improvement in the emergency department average boarding time was attained in the first half of 2019 (reduced from 11.9 hours to 1.7 hours). A total estimated cost saving of SR30 000 000 (US$8 000 000) in terms of operational efficiency was achieved.

Early discharge planning and facilitating the patient discharge process significantly improves the average length of inpatient stay and patient outcomes and decreases hospital costs.