Hospitals are transitioning from manual patient flow methods to advanced patient flow logistics systems according to StatCom survey of healthcare executives. Nearly three-fifths (58 percent) of U.S. health care executives surveyed say their facilities do not have the ability to track patient flow continuously and over half (53 percent) rated the efficiency of their facilities' bed-turn process as poor or fair according to StatCom's 2007 National Survey on Patient Throughput and Capacity Challenges.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) November 12, 2007 -- Nearly three-fifths (58 percent) of U.S. healthcare executives surveyed say their facilities do not have the ability to track patient flow continuously and over half (53 percent) rated the efficiency of their facilities' bed-turn process as poor or fair according to StatCom's 2007 National Survey on Patient Throughput and Capacity Challenges.

The report shows healthcare facilities are still transitioning from old methods of patient throughput management to new technologically advanced patient flow and tracking systems. In fact, two-thirds (67 percent) of executives polled report phone calls and voice messages are still the most common way patient tracking information is made available to admitting staff, while 63 percent indicate that some patient flow information is available on computer terminals.

StatCom's 2007 National Survey on Patient Throughput and Capacity Challenges was designed to capture thoughts and opinions held by U.S. healthcare executives on issues facing their facilities regarding patient flow throughput, bed occupancy and length of stay. Results of the study can be downloaded at http://www.statcom.com/survey/national-survey-2007.aspx

"This research clearly shows that the US healthcare system, although implementing some departmental patient tracking systems, has not yet fully embraced the enterprise-wide logistics technology needed to provide up-to-the-minute patient flow insight," said Eric Morgan, president and CEO of StatCom, the leading provider of patient flow logistics and tracking software. "Efficient management of supply and demand along with accurate patient flow visibility can transform operational performance."

In an effort to improve patient flow, many of the healthcare facilities surveyed (92 percent) say they have incorporated process improvements, but half (50 percent) say they have not yet incorporated a patient flow system. This is despite healthcare executives ranking patient flow systems as having the greatest potential to improve patient throughput.

Patient Flow System (46 percent)
Expanded Facility (18 percent)
Bed Czar (16 percent)
Bed Tracker (14 percent)
Emergency Dept. Tracker (6 percent)

"Implementing innovative patient flow technology is critical for any facility looking to promote advances in healthcare," said François Sainfort, Ph.D., director Health Systems Institute at Georgia Tech. "Simply put, patient flow logistics helps reduce bottlenecks and improves patient throughput and capacity management across the hospital. This in turn decreases wait times, increases patient satisfaction and makes for a higher performing healthcare system."

Bottlenecks are areas where patient flow from one department to another is slowed or stopped. The five most common bottlenecks healthcare leaders considered "often problematic" were:

1.   Delayed decision-making (45 percent)
2.   Lack of preparedness for discharge (41 percent)
3.   Mismatch between critical care beds and step-down/regular beds (40 percent)
4.   Consistent limited bed availability (38 percent)
5.   Increased length-of-stay beyond authorized (36 percent)

Like a traffic jam, bottlenecks result in the slowdown of patient flow during the patient throughput process. Survey results showed that the discharge process continues to be a common bottleneck (60 percent), followed by critical care (58 percent) and telemetry (48 percent). Two-in-five (40 percent) healthcare executives say the greatest length of time a patient might be waiting for an inpatient bed in their facility could be 11 hours or more.

"Bottlenecks are one of the greatest issues facing hospitals today," said Morgan. "One slowdown or stoppage can spark a chain reaction that affects patient flow, as well as a patient's length of stay, the facilities' ability to track bed occupancy, and, most importantly, the quality and speed of care given to patients across departments within a hospital."

There are numerous factors affecting patient flow and a patient's length of stay. A change in one area can increase the patient's length of stay and can have a serious effect on the operations of a hospital. Those surveyed say the most common approaches to reducing length-of-stay are case management (86 percent) and process improvement efforts (76 percent). Healthcare executives say physician delays were the most common factor having a "major impact" on length of stay (46 percent) - more than 2.5 times higher than the second highest "major impact" factor, post acute transfer delays (18 percent).

Tracking the type, number and status of patient beds available is important to the success of every healthcare facility and to improving patient flow. Three-fifths (60 percent) of healthcare executives surveyed indicated their facilities do not have bed management software. Bed huddles and electronic bed boards were the most common methods for determining bed occupancy (both 38 percent). Manual bed boards were used 29 percent of the time.

Learn more about the significance of the survey results in the StatCom sponsored webcast, 2007 National Survey on Patient Throughput and Capacity Challenges - What Do the Results Mean to You? To register go to: http://www.statcom.com/webcast/main.aspx

About the 2007 Patient Throughput Survey
StatCom's 2007 National Survey on Patient Throughput and Capacity Challenges was an online survey conducted in October 2007 with 225 U.S. healthcare executives completing the survey. Of the 225 respondents 54 percent had a C-level title (CEO, COO, CFO, CNO, CMO, or CIO); 39 percent held roles as directors and 7 percent was split equally between process engineers and physicians. Eighty eight percent worked in hospitals, 82 percent were 45 years old or older and 65 percent were females. Camera-ready charts and graphs of key findings from the 2007 Patient Throughput Survey are available by contacting Paul Jonas at 404-929-0091 ext. 213 or pjonas@arketi.com.

About StatCom
StatCom's patient flow logistics and tracking software was developed to improve hospital-wide communications, patient throughput and capacity management. This unique healthcare IT solution provides an immediate and comprehensive view of the entire patient flow process with real-time tools to manage that flow within and between departments. Operational visibility increases, communication is enhanced, and patient care hand-offs are turned into handshakes. As a result, financial performance is maximized while greatly enhancing the patient experience. A number of leading and innovative hospitals in the U.S. are using StatCom to address their patient flow challenges. StatCom is a subsidiary of Jackson Healthcare Solutions, a group of companies focused on providing the healthcare industry with innovative people resources and IT solutions. For more information contact StatCom at 800.930.0870 or at info @ statcom.com.

###

Simillar Articles

StatCom Announces the Appointment of Vishy Narayanan as VP of Engineering

Former Symantec executive brings extensive product development and strategy experience to emerging healthcare enterprise solution company. StatCom, the leading provider of patient flow logistics...

2008 National Survey Reveals Vast Majority of Healthcare Facilities Have Poor Patient Flow :...

Today, StatCom announced the findings of the 2008 National Survey on Patient Flow Challenges and Technologies, an independent, nationwide survey of more than 200 healthcare executives. According to...

StatCom Announces the Appointment of Jim Rosenblum to Executive Team

Former Allscripts executive brings product strategy and development experience to healthcare IT enterprise company. StatCom, the leading provider of patient flow logistics and tracking software,...

Compirion Healthcare Soluitons Wins Improvement Contract with Duke University Hospital

Compirion Healthcare Solutions has been awarded a 30-week contract with Duke University Hospital, in Durham, North Carolina. Compirion has been retained to help improve patient flow from ED front...

StatCom Launches Healthcare Webcast Series with Focus on Improving Patient Throughput

Webcast series features industry thought leaders candidly discussing patient flow logistic challenges, trends, innovations, and technologies. The first webcast in the series, "Hospital Performance...

Home