Background: The US healthcare system is under increasing pressure to improve value and affordability. Acute care is responsible for a large proportion of overall health costs, but the complexities and pace in this environment have left an evidence gap in value-based care transformation. Novel improvement and evaluation strategies are thus needed more than ever to [...]

Background: Long discharge times (DT), (the time from discharge order to patient leaving room), have detrimental impacts on any hospital. Apart from causing dissatisfaction among patients and their families who are waiting to go home, prolonged DT also increases wait times for patients being admitted from the ED. Delayed admissions pursuant to late discharges, caused [...]

Background: Unimpeded patient flow enhances quality, patient experience and access, while reducing costs. Our hospital has an in house discharge pharmacy, which allows us to send patients home with their imperative medications prior to discharge. About 53% of our discharges were delayed due to discharge medications, which equates to 27.8 hours for the ~30 daily [...]

Background: Burnout is the syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal efficacy that occurs in individuals working in the human services field. Recent data suggests that 50% of physicians are experiencing at least one symptom of burnout. Factors that contribute to physician burnout include lack of efficiency and lack of input.There is growing concern [...]