BACKGROUND

The Burton Group of Hospitals in downtown Minneapolis has a patient satisfaction score of 55% compared to 80% in comparable hospitals in the area. Based on patient feedback, the three major complaints in rank order are long waiting, too much movement, and lack of patient focus. The daily census data indicates that 22% of the patients that came to the Emergency Department (ED) had simple fractures. The Hospital is located next to several recreational park systems, therefore the Emergency Department treats a significant amount of patients from recreational sports. Simple fracture procedure has the lowest satisfaction (40%) among the hospital patients.

RECOMMENDATION

We advise The Burton Group of Hospitals to reduce the …show more content…
The system should indicate available quantities of supplies along with storage location to the ED staff. In addition, the staff should be able to give feedback on supplies via the system. This automated system will ensure hassle free operations. As a consequence, the process time in the procedure room will shrink by 25 minutes (Exhibit-1).

* Reduce unnecessary patient and staff movement across the ED.
Through an efficient physical layout and practice design, patient experience can be enhanced by reducing patient movement across the emergency department. In addition, the wise use of technology and improved workflow can enhance the staff-patient relationship and reduce staff wasteful time. * Combine registration area with triage area:
By merging these two areas the registrar won’t have to bring the registration information to the triage nurse located across the room, reducing the registration process time by 3 minutes (Exhibit-1). In addition, the nurse won’t have to waste time by moving across the room to call the patient and waste additional time making sure it’s the right patient (Exhibit-2).

* Set computer stations in patient rooms:
Currently, the computers are located at a central position in the nursing station. Consequently, the doctors and nurses waste valuable time and effort since they have to frequently move back and forth between the