As you learned from Chapter 4 of Hospital-Based Emergency Care and from this weeks articles, emergency departments face serious challenges that impact, and are impacted by, conditions throughout the hospital. Experts emphasize the need to making patient flow more efficient. As noted in the IOM Committees report:
Patient flow, defined as the movement of patients through this system, is an important indicator of the timeliness, safety, and quality of the care received. Efficient patient flow ensures maximum throughput (the number of patients treated and discharged from the ED per day), minimizing delays at each point of the delivery process with no decrement in the quality of care. Impaired patient flow, on the other hand, results in bottlenecks that prolong delays for patients already in the system, as well as those awaiting entry (p. 133).
For this Application, you will interview at least one administrator or manager working in a local emergency department to learn how his or her ED has identified and addressed challenges involving patient flow. On the basis of this interview, you will select one of these challenges and do further research about best practices to address this problem.
The interviewee should hold one of the following (or comparable) positions for this ED:
o Administrative director of the ED (usually non-physician)
o Chief of Emergency Services or Emergency Department (physician)
o Nurse Manager for ED
o Lab Manager or Imaging Manager responsible for supporting ED
When contacting the department, identify yourself as a student in the Walden University MHA program and briefly describe your objective in interviewing the administrator or manager. Let your interviewee know that you will keep all identifying details (such as his/her name and the name of the hospital) confidential, if desired.
Review the Input/throughput/output Model of a patient flow through the ED, on page 134 in Hospital-Based Emergency Care (http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11621&page=134# ). Consider why this is the typical model, and what the pros and cons of this process flow are. Make sure you understand how it represents patient flow.
Make a list of various issues related to patient flow, as identified in Chapter 4 of Hospital-Based Emergency Care and your other Learning Resources. Note when and why bottlenecks typically occur, and identify other problems in efficient processing of ED patients. Also list strategies used to address these challenges.
With these thoughts in mind, develop a list of questions about the patient flow process (covering input, throughput, and/or output phases) to ask your interviewee. Through these questions, you should find out about challenges they have encountered regarding patient flow, and ways they have addressed it. Phrase these questions in your own words. At minimum, your questions should encompass the following:
o What are crucial challenges this ED has faced in recent years related to patient flow?
o On what basis were these challenges identified? Were quantitative data used to identify and confirm the existence of problems, and if so, which types of data?
o Focusing on one of these challenges, what process improvement or reengineering efforts has this ED taken to address the challenge?Did the department follow Lean and/or Six Sigma or other comparable approaches in addressing this?
o Did the ED use any internal or external best practices to make these changes? If so, which ones?
o Did the organization or ED establish any metrics to determine if expected outcomes are being met? If so, what were the metrics?
o Did the implemented changes achieve expected outcomes?
Conduct your interview with at least one of the administrators or managers of a local hospitals Emergency Department (see list of possible interviewees by title above). Ideally, conduct this interview in person in the hospital. If this is not feasible, however, you may complete this interview by phone. If follow-up questions are needed, these may be conducted by phone and/or email.
If possible, arrange for a tour of your selected ED, so that you may observe firsthand the layout and other notable features of the ED that may impact patient flow.
Do further research through Walden Library and/or the web to learn more about the patient flow challenge identified by your interviewee. According to your research, what are best practices for this process improvement issue?
Write a 3- to 4-page paper in which you address the following:
o Identify the name and organization of your interviewee (unless that person has requested anonymity).
o Summarize the responses from your interviewee to your questions.
o Based on the interview and additional research you conducted, what is the industry best practice for this performance improvement issue?
o Which key stakeholders are likely to be affected by the performance improvement effort, and how?
o Provide with any further conclusions about the EDs operations or layout, and best practices as they relate to the challenges facing this ED.
The Application is due by Day 7 of this week
Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this weeks Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct.
Why Choose Us
Top quality papers
We always make sure that writers follow all your instructions precisely. You can choose your academic level: high school, college/university or professional, and we will assign a writer who has a respective degree.
Professional academic writers
We have hired a team of professional writers experienced in academic and business writing. Most of them are native speakers and PhD holders able to take care of any assignment you need help with.
Free revisions
If you feel that we missed something, send the order for a free revision. You will have 10 days to send the order for revision after you receive the final paper. You can either do it on your own after signing in to your personal account or by contacting our support.
On-time delivery
All papers are always delivered on time. In case we need more time to master your paper, we may contact you regarding the deadline extension. In case you cannot provide us with more time, a 100% refund is guaranteed.
Original & confidential
We use several checkers to make sure that all papers you receive are plagiarism-free. Our editors carefully go through all in-text citations. We also promise full confidentiality in all our services.
24/7 Customer Support
Our support agents are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and committed to providing you with the best customer experience. Get in touch whenever you need any assistance.
Try it now!
How it works?
Follow these simple steps to get your paper done
Place your order
Fill in the order form and provide all details of your assignment.
Proceed with the payment
Choose the payment system that suits you most.
Receive the final file
Once your paper is ready, we will email it to you.
Our Services
No need to work on your paper at night. Sleep tight, we will cover your back. We offer all kinds of writing services.
Essays
You are welcome to choose your academic level and the type of your paper. Our academic experts will gladly help you with essays, case studies, research papers and other assignments.
Admissions
Admission help & business writing
You can be positive that we will be here 24/7 to help you get accepted to the Master’s program at the TOP-universities or help you get a well-paid position.
Reviews
Editing your paper
Our academic writers and editors will help you submit a well-structured and organized paper just on time. We will ensure that your final paper is of the highest quality and absolutely free of mistakes.
Reviews
Revising your paper
Our academic writers and editors will help you with unlimited number of revisions in case you need any customization of your academic papers