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Hospital Admission Process Redesign
Client Situation: Admissions were significantly impacted due to accurate information on discharge and bed/room availability. Circumstances frequently occurred when available beds were not identified while patients were waiting assignment; and, at other times, beds that were shown as available had already been assigned and were occupied. The system had degraded to a point where the only reliable means of determining availability was to call the floor.
Endeavor Management Solution: Endeavor Management was retained to evaluate the situation and provide recommendations across all related processes to "fix" the admissions process. A vision for how the admission process should work was developed and a facilitated work session was conducted, along with one-on-one interviews to identify the various issues. Five focus areas were identified for which as-is process flows and interfaces were developed. The requirements for each area were identified, work flows defined. Gaps and disconnects were identified, along with information system problems and training issues. Work procedures were dated and frequently did not reflect activities that needed to be completed.
Recommendations were made for process revisions and modified system requirements. The recommendations were accepted and Endeavor Management served to facilitate the implementation of the improvements. Process and system improvements were implemented along with performance measures and metrics to measure process effectiveness. Work procedures were reviewed and updated to the new process.
Results and Benefits: Work procedure and information system improvements expedite readying a bed for a new admission; and upon being readied, the bed is reflected into the system as available for admission with the pertinent factors for assignment. The information is accurate and the wait time for admission has been reduced to well within the targeted metrics. Cost benefits were estimated to provide a five-fold benefit over the cost in a one year period.