Kurt Shampine ProModel Corp Sr. VP LifeSciences

By solving issues related to admission, transfer, and discharge (ADT), patient flow optimization is one of the most cost effective and simplest ways to improve quality of care and increase revenues. Patient flow analytics systems can safely accelerate the patient journey through your health system, so you can make the best choices for your patients and your hospital’s bottom line.

Let’s take a look at how patient flow optimization can address each element of ADT.

A: ADMIT Patients Effectively

Efficient patient flow through hospital departments leads to satisfying healthcare experiences for everyone involved in the patient’s care. Increase safety and satisfaction by always having an admit bed in the right unit at the right time.

Emergency Department (ED) boarding and overcrowding issues are often at the center of admission challenges. 91% of hospital ED directors experience issues with overcrowding and its associated complications. When EDs try to function above their capacity limits, patients suffer from long wait times, increased lengths of stay, and improper care and attention from overloaded staff.

The key to preventing overcrowding and boarding is to address patient flow hospital-wide so admissions can be made quickly to the correct departments 24/7.

 D: Solve Slow DISCHARGE Dilemmas

When admissions outpace discharges, hospitals face mounting issues such as lack of available beds, overcrowded waiting rooms, and staff shortages. Every hour of discharge delay costs your hospital up to $2,500 per patient.

Patient flow analytics can help your hospital solve the discharge puzzle to reduce length of stay, prioritize morning discharges and improve patient throughput.

A quality prescriptive patient flow system can even find hidden discharges in your current census. With one glance at a dashboard you can see which patients are approaching discharge by diagnosis, past-due discharges, and those with co-morbidity issues requiring a possible diagnosis-related group (DRG) transfer.

 T: TRANSFER Smarter & Faster

Effective patient transfers play a major role in keeping patients safe and satisfied. Patients transitioning from one provider or healthcare setting to another too often get lost in the shuffle or delayed.

Patient flow optimization helps hospital staff facilitate the movement of patients from one facility, unit, or department to another using analytics and foresight to avoid any hurdles.
If a patient is initially placed in a suboptimal unit, a patient flow optimization system can prescribe a transfer to the correct unit as soon as a bed and staff are available in the correct service, ensuring that patient receives optimal care.

How FutureFlow Rx™ Solves ADT Challenges

Our real-time, prescriptive analytics system provides hospital staff with current patient flow conditions, future projections, and specific tips for improving patient flow over the entire ADT continuum.

FutureFlow Rx’s dashboard consists of key performance indicator (KPI) “cards”. The left side of each card shows the last 24 hours; the right side predicts the “Next 24”; and clicking the upper right “light bulbs” provides prescriptive actions to improve the predicted future.

Optimizing ADT effectiveness improves patient health and satisfaction, streamlines patient flow throughout the health system, and helps clinical teams work together as a cohesive unit leading to higher job satisfaction. With intelligent patient placement, unnecessary risks and costs can be more easily avoided.