The healthcare landscape faces many challenges including an aging population, expensive insurance, and a varying distribution of resources. Many people dread going to the emergency department due to extended time spent in the waiting room and overcrowding—however, many hospitals are now using innovative technology to improve speed and efficiency in their emergency departments. Improvements in technology are helping both physicians and patients through the hospitalization process with less stress and faster treatment. Many hospitals have implemented a variety of new directives for enhanced emergency department admission. According to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, one hospital employed an admission system based on telephone consultation between doctors and hospital staff. This practice assisted in monitoring the admission rates making operations smoother and faster. Similarly, as reported in the Journal of Nursing Admission, other innovations have included “immediate bedding, optimizing use of point-of-care testing, utilizing mid-level providers, utilizing protocol orders, and using nontraditional beds,” in an effort to make the patients’ stay more comfortable. While the emergency department demand is increasingly rising, many hospitals are aiming toward leaving their patients with improved and more satisfactory experiences. The possibilities for optimizing emergency department conditions are quite expansive. In fact, when the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital dramatically improved in patient satisfaction from the 6th to the 99th percentile, staff were trained in the “principles of lean manufacturing” which were used to revolutionize the Toyota Production System. Just a few of the other hospitals making innovations in their emergency departments include: • University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Hospital• Cullman Regional Medical Center (CRMC)• Ohio State University Hospital• Lynchburg General Hospital • Johns Hopkins Emergency Department With innovations in emergency department management, patients can appreciate a more personal and satisfactory hospital experience. This is particularly important during the busy holiday season when people would rather spend time with their families than in the hospital. Source
