Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Reducing Variation Changes ED

ED bottlenecks are common problems in hospitals causing excessive wait times, decreasing patient satisfaction rates. Additionally, overwhelmed staff members become increasingly frustrated. By reviewing the entire "ED experience," Ingalls Memorial Hospital, Harvey, Ill., was able to cut ED length of stay times, improve patient and employee satisfaction and improve communication during patient transitions and handoffs. The hospital implemented a computer-based technology that assists with patient handoffs. The technology prompts the nurse to standardize handoff reports using the SBAR format?Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation. The technology allows the new shift of nurses to review the reports of only the patients they need to care for instead of listening to reports for all the patients on the floor. Further, nurses are able to listen to the report as many times as they wish. This resulted in reduced ED length of stay, reduced number of patients left without being seen, and an increase in patients being treated in the ED.