Reduced Time to Admit Emergency Department Patients to Inpatient Beds Using Outflow Barrier Analysis and Process Improvement.

Objective: Because admitted emergency department (ED) patients waiting for an inpatient bed contribute to dangerous ED crowding, we conducted a patient flow investigation to discover and solve outflow delays. After solution implementation, we measured whether the time admitted ED patients waited to leave the ED was reduced.

Methods: In June 2022, a team using Lean Healthcare methodologies identified flow delays and underlying barriers in a Midwest, mid-sized hospital.