Median time in hours from the decision to admit a patient from the ED to the physical placement of the patient in an inpatient bed.

Rapid movement from the Emergency Department (ED) after a decision to admit the patient is critical for entry to the entire system for emergent patient care. It represents the ability of the system to handle unscheduled admissions.

The goal is to decrease the time from the decision to admit a patient from the Emergency Department to the physical placement of the patient in an inpatient bed to one hour or less for all patients within 12 months.

Sample five patients per day for five days of the week. Patients must be consecutive and at least one day must be a weekend day.

OR

Sample 25 consecutive patients regardless of any specific day, except that the sample must include some weekend admissions.

OR

If there are fewer than 25 admissions for a week, include all of the admissions in the sample.

Related Tools
Emergency Department Hourly Patient Flow Analysis
AM Bed Huddle Worksheet
Faxed Report Form
Bed Placement Prioritization Guidelines