Patient throughput: New terminology, same problem

Abstract

Inpatient capacity has become an issue for most hospitals across the United States. Community, private, and academic medical centers have all experienced problems coordinating admissions with patient discharges. The result has been clogged emergency departments, overcrowded postanesthesia care units (PACUs), delayed admissions from clinics and physician offices, and delayed transfers from health care facilities to hospitals. The resulting impact on patient satisfaction is obvious when the care they seek is delayed or interrupted by a prolonged wait for admission to an acute care facility. This bottleneck of admissions arriving before discharges can occur has resulted in a new term in the health care setting: throughput. Inpatient capacity has become an issue for most hospitals across the United States. Community, private, and academic medical centers have all experienced problems coordinating admissions with patient discharges. The result has been clogged emergency departments, overcrowded postanesthesia care units (PACUs), delayed admissions from clinics and physician offices, and delayed transfers from health care facilities to hospitals. The resulting impact on patient satisfaction is obvious when the care they seek is delayed or interrupted by a prolonged wait for admission to an acute care facility. This bottleneck of admissions arriving before discharges can occur has resulted in a new term in the health care setting: throughput.