How do you see patient flow?

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.

I see patient flow as a broad, multi-faceted part of hospital practice crucial to quality of care and business success. It touches everything in the enterprise. Patient flow is at the core of the major quality metrics we look at such as length of stay, readmission rates, delays of admission, care, and discharge, all of which affect reimbursement.

The past tendency to view (minimize) patient flow as “just” bed turnover, ER crowding, or discharge delays fails to recognize just how impactful it is. Addressing only one part or just “tweaking” the symptoms may not fix and may actually worsen problems.

The growing trend, however, to apply patient flow as a holistic, centralized, and standardized solution is yielding tremendous results. Better care, better business, better patient satisfaction.