Teams focused on improving patient flow in the acute care setting should be interdisciplinary and include individuals who can work across departments or areas to impact change. Team members should have a working understanding of current flow issues across the system. Be sure to include key physician and administrative leaders on the team; these are keys to success.
 Improving flow of patients in the acute care setting requires looking at the overall system. What is often seen as an "ED problem" is actually a system issue. Efforts to improve flow need to be led by an interdisciplinary core team of staff who have a cross-organizational view of flow and the drive and influence to engage individuals within departments to make changes that cut across individual departments or areas. The core team sets the overall direction for making system changes to improve flow.
Focused workgroups may be formed to work on changes within key areas and processes. The workgroups work in parallel with the core team to make changes that support system-wide improvement. An example would be a team focusing on process changes within the emergency department to support more efficient movement of patients to the inpatient setting or a team focused on improving the flow of patients in surgery.
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| | | | | Example One of an Effective Team: The overall core team should be interdisciplinary and include individuals with a working understanding of current flow and the influence to work across the organization. Although the positions of individuals on the core team will vary, here is an example of a good core team: -
Physician leader (VP of Medical Affairs or Medical Director) -
Administrative leader (CEO, COO, CNO) -
Nursing manager and/or key staff nurse -
Department director -
Representative from discharge planning and/or case management -
Admissions/bed placement coordinator -
Key driver of clinical quality | | | | | Example Two of an Effective Team: Aim: Improve patient flow the institution in order to expedite patient care through the emergency department and across the system. Focused workgroup (working with the core team): | | | | | Example Three of an Effective Team: Aim: Redesign the system in order to improve timeliness and reduce delays to safe and efficient flow of patients through the operating room and across the system. Focused workgroup (working with the core team): | | | |
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