title: Emergency department: improving patient satisfaction.
abstract: A process improvement initiative aimed at decreasing emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) and thereby improving patient satisfaction was implemented. Any attempt to improve ED LOS requires intense focus on the goal and involvement of many departments of the hospital. While the LOS targets were not met, decreasing the LOS to the achieved levels resulted in the highest levels of patient satisfaction ever achieved and sustained in the ED.
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services/CNO Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jo M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Walrath
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tomallo-Bowman
authors.forename: Jeanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Maguire
mesh_terms: D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014481:United States