When Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare looked at improving patient throughput, one of the issues that surfaced had to do with housekeeping, which historically had deployed its work force in a way that did not serve the facility.
As hospitals struggle to improve patient throughput by streamlining their emergency departments and installing bed management software, they often discount one of the most basic tools at their disposal.
This month, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Towson, MD, begins discharging patients by appointment, in the latest phase of a three-year effort toward capacity maximization.
A centralized admissions area (CAA) at Elmhurst (IL) Memorial Healthcare handles much of the workups and assessments that unit nurses typically do, minimizing treatment delays and enhancing patient throughput.
It's the philosophy at Elmhurst (IL) Memorial Healthcare to offer leadership opportunities to employees at all levels and in all areas of the organization.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005, the already challenging task of arranging discharges and communicating with post-acute providers became even more daunting.
Physicians from throughout the state -- and country -- who make referrals to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Medical Center in Little Rock can check their patients' records.
The emergency care system in Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita still has not recovered and progress is slow, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) reports.
Interoperability -- how to get one system to talk to another -- is one of the hottest topics in health care today, and a challenge that every hospital and health system must face in some fashion.
Demonstrating leadership ability, obtaining a professional certification, and meeting collection goals are among the key requirements of a comprehensive access career ladder being implemented at The Children's Hospital in Denver.
