Fresh policies and procedures, transparency fuel ED turnaround.
The ED at Banner Payson Medical Center in Payson, AZ, has charted dramatic improvements on key metrics through a range of staff and policy changes. In just a few months, the ED has halved wait times, patient satisfaction has improved, and daily volume is up. Administrators say the secret to the success of the effort is a move to be transparent by posting key metrics regarding patient flow, a tactic that has helped the team pull together and feel a sense of accomplishment when performance goals are achieved. Administrators adjusted staff schedules to better match patient volume patterns in the ED, and they added staff to help nurses during peak hours. A new provider group enlisted the assistance of scribes during peak hours to manage the documentation workload while also enabling physicians to focus more patient interaction. Physicians hold end-of-shift huddles to review successes and challenges, and to improve physician/nurse communication. The tactic also helps develop the staff from an educational standpoint.
D001130:Arizona; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006769:Hospitals, General; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D016134:Organizational Policy; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*