How do you see patient flow? This is a common discussion thread that comes up in my conversations with health care leaders. One's perspective on patient flow shapes the solution they pursue to improve it.
As a patient flow coordinator at a large New England tertiary-care hospital, my team and I adopted the “5 ‘Rights’ of Patient Placement” as our guiding principles for patient placement . . .
Transfer centers for many hospital systems can be the “hub” of patient flow. They move patients, coordinate rides, find beds, and most importantly make it easy for physicians. But they’re still call centers, right?
As I travel and work with customers, I often hear the term “bed hiding” . . . these words often insinuate that: “Nurses hide beds” . . . I would like to propose a different perspective . . .
Recently, I was struck as the “Titletown, USA” sign came into view above the dashboard of my rental car while on my way to train a group of medical staff officers in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
When we talk with hospitals about our transfer center solution, Central Logic ForeFront™, I'm commonly asked how to value it. The value, or return on investment, for Forefront is relatively straightforward for U.S. hospitals and systems.
It's important to have an accurate call schedule when coordinating a patient transfer.
Meaningful Use! ACO! Healthcare reform! The healthcare world continues to shout these, and other hot topics, from the rooftops. What are we to think?
“If we could just… – (fill in blank with) – ‘get our patients out by noon’ or ‘get the physicians to round early’ or ‘get discharge orders earlier’ we could improve our patient flow.” I don’t disagree with any of these concepts, and if you can actually accomplish all three simultaneously, you may be successful in improving patient flow in some units, but not hospital–wide.
In my hospital-based, internal medicine practice, I see a broad spectrum of patients that range in age and acuity levels who suffer from a wide variety of disease processes. Communication between medical staff and family and friends is vital, especially so with critically ill patients. For family members, nothing is more stressful than watching and waiting while a loved one hovers near death.
When the need arises to transfer a patient to a higher level of care, the decision should be s...
The recent HIMSS conference in Orlando was a tremendous success for Central Logic. We were fortunate to partner with Hewlett-Packard in its booth and demonstrate our new line of Central Logic Core™ bed management products across the HP line of TouchSmart™ products. This included HP’s 42” TouchSmart monitor, the HP 9100 TouchSmart All-in-One PC and also the HP SLATE 500 handheld device.
Besides being featured as the “killer app” in HP’s booth, it was very exciting to s...
There appears to be some debate over whether to use clinical staff (RNs) or non-clinical staff when operating a Transfer Center. However, there is a growing trend to use clinical staff in Transfer Centers rather than non-clinical as a best practice for several reasons. But before I discuss the rationale of using clinical staff, the Transfer Center Director must first understand their hospital’s primary reasons and objectives for establishing a Transfer Center.
The primary consid...
In just four short months with Central Logic, I have observed and discussed the designs of specific Transfer Centers/Call Centers with directors and managers while training them to use the ForeFront software at their facilities. It is interesting to hear the goals and objectives they each have, as well as to learn the history behind their development.
Prior to my employment with Central Logic, I managed a Transfer Center and Patient Placement Department for over ten years. During ...
At our annual Patient Transfer Summit this year, I introduced the concept of the transfer center as the hub of the patient flow process. This is a trend I am seeing more and more across the country, and the consensus of various panels and committees at the conference only confirmed this movement.
It is a natural growth process for both transfer centers and also for the unique people that run them. Transfer centers are born from a variety of origins including the ED, transport, nursing ...
I continue to be amazed and interested in the many unique workflow designs and processes of Transfer Centers and Patient Placement/Bed Control Departments. They’re intriguing in how they function and communicate internally and with each other–and in how they function and communicate with external customers (i.e., referring facilities, internal nursing units, etc). Whether these two access departments for a hospital are part of the same management structure, may potentially be managed ...
As a physician in a regional medical center, I am often called upon to evaluate and treat patients who are in an unstable state. The diagnoses vary, and include STEMI, strokes, septic shock, trauma, hemorrhage, and much more. The patients may come from direct admissions, ED evaluations, or consults. In my previous work at a major tertiary care and level one trauma center, managing such cases was an orchestrated symphony of experienced sub-specialists, domain experts, and ultra-modern equipmen...
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, with its fabulous leadership and devoted staff, is our newest client. One of the more interesting parts of training trip came from its use of the integrated Call Recording module in ForeFront.
Upon arriving at the hospital, I installed the ForeFront Call Recording software onto the machines and conducted a few practice scenarios. We ran through the tests perfectly with the nurses until they felt confident enough in knowing how the software functioned....
Last week, Central Logic sponsored the second annual Transfer Center Summit. It was, in so many ways, a huge success. The total number of attendees more than doubled from 2009. Our speakers included representatives from some of the largest healthcare organizations in the wor...