By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
August 7, 2024
for clinicians
More time consuming specialized protocols paired with inadequate nurse staffing numbers has led to a decline in hospital throughput rates over recent years.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, distinct practices adopted in hospitals across the United States have hindered patient care efficiency. The meshing of more time consuming specialized protocols as well as inadequate nurse staffing numbers has led to a decline in hospital throughput rates over recent years.
With just under 917,000 staffed beds across all United States hospitals, the pace at which patients are released from care as compared to the rate that they enter hospitals daily is highly inefficient and unsustainable. With about 611,000 patients being admitted to hospitals each day, accompanied by an average stay length of five and a half days, the flow of patients leaving with quick and sufficient care stagnates.
Although it is important to prioritize the quality of care patients are receiving, which often comes with numerous days of care, incoming patients must not be overlooked. As an industry, healthcare is always looking for ways to improve and help more people, and an improvement in hospital throughput rates would certainly be a step forward.
Considering the hundreds of different fields of care delivered within a hospital atmosphere, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint an exact solution to get patients cycling out on a regular basis. There are, however, possibilities for smaller scale resolutions that could make large impacts.
Instituting modern technology such as the SimPull device by The Patient Company is a great way to cut down on time spent on cumbersome tasks such as patient transfer. Not only does this device help optimize time, but also the amount of manual labor needed to aid a single patient. Taking less than 3 minutes to transfer a patient from one bed to another as compared to the thirty minutes to an hour of cumulative staff time that it usually takes to transfer, usage of the SimPull has the potential to clear hours of staff time.
Additionally, rather than taking multiple hospital staff members to move one patient, this groundbreaking device needs only one person to operate it, allowing other nurses to check in on more patients during that time. Being able to spread staff’s time among a greater span of tasks and patients may drastically improve efficiency, ultimately increasing hospital throughput.
Cross-training staff to handle multiple roles could prove to be a solution that enhances efficiency within hospitals. Much of the medical field is highly specialized, leading to a substantial percent of hospital staff only being able to perform a set amount of tasks. This increased flexibility in staffing could potentially speed up hospital throughput rates, as staff across the board would now be knowledgeable in ways to help an even larger number of patients.
While the details of any job in the medical field are important, fostering an encouraging community can be equally crucial. It is critical that hospitals cultivate an environment where staff are encouraged to suggest and implement efficiency improvements. A culture that never seeks to change and improve will oftentimes become sluggish, stuck in the past while the rest of the world spins quicker. Embracing and encouraging change such as the implementation of modern technologies can make all the difference in creating and keeping an efficient hospital setting.
%20(1).png)
