A Multidisciplinary Initiative to Increase Inpatient Discharges Before Noon JOURNAL OF NURSING ADMINISTRATION Kane, M., Weinacker, A., Arthofer, R., Seay-Morrison, T., Elfman, W., Ramirez, M., Ahuja, N., Pickham, D., Hereford, J., Welton, M. 2016; 46 (12): 630-635

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of 2 hospital-wide interventions on achieving a discharge-before-noon rate of 40%.A multidisciplinary team led by administrative and physician leadership developed a plan to diminish capacity constraints by minimizing late afternoon hospital discharges using 2 patient flow management techniques.The study was a preintervention/postintervention retrospective analysis observing all inpatients discharged across 19 inpatient units in a 484-bed, academic teaching hospital measuring calendar month discharge-before-noon percentage, patient satisfaction, and readmission rates. Patient satisfaction and readmission rates were used as baseline metrics.The discharge-before-noon percentage increased from 14% in the 11-month preintervention period to an average of 24% over the 11-month postintervention period, whereas patient satisfaction scores and readmission rates remained stable.Implementation of the 2 interventions successfully increased the percentage of discharges before noon yet did not achieve the goal of 40%. Patient satisfaction and readmission rates were not negatively impacted by the program.

View details for DOI 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000418

View details for PubMedID 27851703