Management of an Inpatient Unit by Emergency Department Staff: An Exploration of Improvement in Patient Throughput
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Holding admitted patients in the Emergency Department (ED) influences the length of stay, discharges, and the quality of care provided regardless of who is responsible for that situation. Purpose: To determine if transferring admitted patients holding in the ED to a dedicated inpatient nursing unit managed by ED staff would improve ED patient throughput and decrease Left Without Being Seen (LWBS). Methodology: The ED department opened an inpatient nursing unit for patients waiting for an inpatient bed. Prior to the unit opening, staff shadowed on an inpatient unit to enhance their knowledge of the inpatient unit patient care flow. Select admitted patients holding for inpatient beds were transferred to this unit until an inpatient bed was assigned. Inpatient orders were initiated once patients arrived in the unit. Results: Over nine months 11,115 patient care hours were transferred from the ED and helped with the bottle necking of patients in the ED. Patients who were transferred to the ED managed inpatient holding unit shared that they were so happy to get a private room with a bathroom, and that their families could stay with them while they waited for their inpatient bed assignment.
Institution: Cone Health
Language: English
Subfield: Emergency Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3206573358