Emergency Department Efficiency

The Emergency Department process is critical for any hospital. Short wait times and a positive experience represent important drivers of patient satisfaction. Meanwhile, inefficient processes can result in lost revenues and poor community image, not to mention concern over patient safety. Since your Emergency Department (ED) is frequently a patient’s first experience with your hospital, improving the ED’s efficiencies is paramount to both customer satisfaction and your hospital’s bottom line.

The emergency process is an ideal place to launch a major change initiative. It has clear boundaries while involving a number of departments. It also provides a good first experience at developing the cross-functional Change Management Framework and techniques necessary to drive change through the broader hospital enterprise.

At Thomas Group, we understand that hospitals have a significant need for strategic and operational performance initiatives to improve quality of care, efficiency, and the bottom line. ED operational excellence means eliminating unnecessary patient care processes that can lead to a decline in quality of care and streamlining redundant support services that increase costs (waste) and create staff dissatisfaction.

Thomas Group consultants deploy a variety of tools to transform your Emergency Department into the highest quality, most efficient, and patient-centered in the area. We drive reduction in door-to-physician, door-to-discharge, and door-to-inpatient cycle times, while simultaneously improving patient and staff satisfaction. The following are just a few of the ways we have helped our clients reap benefits from more efficient flow processes:

• Unbiased, in-depth assessment of current Emergency Department capabilities
• Provided blueprint to Emergency Department improvements
• Increased Emergency Department operational efficiency and patient flow (capacity and throughput)
• Enhanced patient satisfaction
• Expedited the ED triage and registration process
• Increased market share and revenues
• Decreased ED costs
• Improved ED quality of care ratios and patient safety
• Promoted excellence in patient care
• Decreased malpractice liability risk
• Enhanced enterprise-wide process improvement decreased capital concerns
• Reduced congestion and overcrowding in the Emergency Department and other departments
• Enabled greater bed availability, and accelerated discharge cycle times
• Increased bond ratings
• Enhanced inpatient volume and revenue

We typically help our clients reduce door-to-discharge time by 24% and door-to-inpatient by 16%.

Thomas Group consultants will work directly with you to design an approach unique to your ED intended to maximize participation and expedite the time necessary to complete it. This approach will include:

• Separation of the issues and barriers into manageable sizes to ensure alignment of focus on ED strategy and overall hospital strategy
• Establishment of small, cross-functional working groups of internal experts and Thomas Group personnel to generate and evaluate options
• A straw model approach that brings a proposed solution for group evaluation
• Close, daily interaction between Thomas Group consultants and hospital personnel
• Regular meetings with the hospital management team to review progress to plan
• Monthly review of trend metrics for key measurements

Thomas Group has a unique, rich history of delivering process improvement and performance management services that enable businesses and organizations to optimize operations, productivity, and quality, while reducing cost and driving higher profitability. Our services have transformed the corporate landscape of our client organizations by creating a competitive advantage, driving sustainable results, and providing unparalleled opportunities for growth.

In taking a more deliberate approach and working with experienced process improvement experts, you can ensure your organization utilizes the right tools to guarantee the right results to make your hospital an industry leader.

Let Thomas Group help you realize your potential by implementing Breakthrough Emergency Department Efficiency solutions.