20 Questions to Assess Hospitals' Operational Efficiency

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Hospitals can determine if they're optimizing their resources by completing a 20-question checklist by TeleTracking Technologies.

A TeleTracking blog provides the checklist:

1.    Is your current patient placement process managed with automation?
2.    Is the patient placement office (bed control) operational 24/7 for consistency and continuity?
3.    Is bed turnover automated?
4.    Is housekeeping notified immediately when patients are discharged?
5.    Does housekeeping clean empty beds on a 24/7 basis?
6.    Is patient transport centralized and operational 24/7?
7.    Are more than 50 percent of your discharged patients escorted by a hospital transporter?
8.    Do you receive consistent, timely identification of pending/confirmed discharges?
9.    Is case management involved in correct admission status determination?
10. Is your discharge process running smoothly (i.e., are 20 percent of patients discharged by 1100 and 50 percent before 1300)?
11. Are "left without being seen," overcrowding and/or wait times not a problem in your emergency department?
12. Is the length of patients' stays within standards for their diagnosis-related groups?
13. Are post-anesthesia care unit overcrowding, operating hold and delay or cancelling of cases not an issue?
14. Is your transfer center automated and interfaced with patient placement software?
15. Do you have a "one call — that's all" philosophy to expedite inter-facility and direct admission transfers?
16. Are inter-facility and direct admission transfers currently a centralized process (i.e., one area to contact for acceptance)?
17. Do you track patterns to prevent readmissions?
18. Do hospital-acquired infection prevention efforts primarily focus on hand-washing?
19. Do you have processes in place to eliminate hiding and hoarding of mobile medical equipment?
20. Are you maintaining an adequate refrigerator temperature to avoid throwing out costly medications?

Hospitals that answer "no" to three or more of these questions should consider using TeleTracking software and consulting to improve workflow, according to the blog post.

More Articles on TeleTracking:

6 Benefits of a Hospital's Centralized Transfer Center
5 Hospitals Saving Costs, Boosting Revenue Through Real-Time Capacity Management

Patient Flow Software Helps Hospitals Respond to Emergencies

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