title: Standards governing ED patient flow, patient boarding are strengthened.
abstract: The Joint Commission has revised its standards regarding ED patient flow and patient boarding so that hospital leaders must establish measures, set goals, and take responsibility for resolving throughput challenges. Some experts applaud the change, noting that problems with ED crowding often require system-level solutions. Experts suggest that one way for hospitals to meet the new standards and drive improvement is to make patient-flow goals part of the hospital's Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) plan. Hospitals and EDs need to look at how they will address behavioral health patients who are waiting for transfer to another facility. Safety needs to be the key consideration.
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000592:standards*; D017751:Safety Management; D035501:Uncertainty; D014481:United States