Lean Process Improvement Methodology Reduces South Florida Emergency Department Length of Stay

Hospital Challenges

Emergency department (ED) patients at a South Florida hospital were experiencing delays resulting in a 289-minute average length of stay (LOS). These inflated wait times led to unnecessary anxiety for patients and delayed access to the best possible care. Envision Physician Services set out to streamline processes to reduce the average LOS and improve overall patient experience.

Envision’s team pinpointed workflow bottlenecks to reduce operational waste and improve patient experience.

RESULTS

50% reduction in “in bed” to “physician greet” times, from 12 to 6 minutes

7% reduction in “physician greet” to “disposition, admissions” times, from 242 to 224 minutes

12% reduction in “physician greet” to “disposition, departs” times, from 137 to 120 minutes

16% reduction in overall average length of stay, from 289 to 243 minutes