Avoidable delays in patient care have long challenged health systems, increasing costs, straining capacity, and disrupting patient flow. Yet many organizations lack the data needed to identify their root causes. West Tennessee Healthcare, a not-for-profit system with seven hospitals serving 19 counties, is using AI-powered tools to bring actionable insights directly into care management workflows.
The Problem: Avoidable Delays and Their Costs
According to an Advisory Board analysis of CMS Medicare fee-for-service claims data, approximately 25% of hospital days are avoidable, representing 10.8 million avoidable inpatient days annually.
For hospitals like West Tennessee Healthcare, solving these delays is critical. Their flagship 642-bed facility was facing high census levels and related operational challenges. Discharge planning was particularly strained, with case managers and social workers lacking the data to identify and address barriers effectively.
“Prior to implementing Xsolis’ Navigate solution, our biggest pain points were understanding what our discharge barriers were and what was causing avoidable delays,” said Debbie Ashworth, BSN, MHSA, ACMA, CMAC, Executive Director of Care Management at West Tennessee Healthcare. “We anecdotally understood the barriers, but we didn’t have the data to back it up.”
The Solution: Dragonfly Navigate
West Tennessee Healthcare partnered with Xsolis to implement Dragonfly Navigate, an AI-driven case management workflow solution designed to address excess days. The platform addresses limited root cause data, process variability, and inconsistent patient flow. By embedding AI-powered insights directly into daily workflows, Dragonfly Navigate empowers care teams with predictive discharge dates, task prioritization, and clear visibility into discharge barriers.
The platform integrates seamlessly with the hospital’s existing Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system, eliminating the need for duplicate documentation. Predictive models update as clinical documentation evolves, giving teams real-time visibility into barriers. Smart filters also allow case managers to prioritize tasks, such as identifying which patients are ready for discharge and where barriers require immediate attention.
“Nobody’s got time for double documentation,” Ashworth explained. “With Navigate, everything flows back into the EMR, making it easy for our staff to adapt.”
Early Results: Data-Driven Discharge Planning
West Tennessee piloted Dragonfly Navigate at its flagship facility, training 48 staff members over three days. Within the first three days of live use, the team documented more than 1,500 notes, signaling early adoption. Daily huddles and reporting reinforced adoption, while dashboards provided greater visibility into discharge activity.
“With Dragonfly Navigate, we now have visibility into discharge planning workflow and documentation,” Ashworth noted. “This helps us see where standards and best practices are being followed, identify gaps in assignment coverage, and better assess our productivity and resource utilization.”
A significant breakthrough has been root cause data on avoidable delays. Instead of relying on anecdotal insights, Ashworth and her team now have a clear understanding of factors driving excess days, whether it’s waiting on a response, a bed, or an authorization.
“The insights on avoidable days are huge for our goals around reducing excess days,” Ashworth said. “We’ve always known placements were a driver, but now we can pinpoint the exact causes. That’s a game changer.”
The Broader Impact on Performance
The financial opportunity is significant. A Kaufman Hall report found that reducing LOS by one day can save a 425-bed hospital more than $20 million in operating expenses while creating additional capacity for new admissions.
By addressing avoidable delays systematically, West Tennessee Healthcare is realizing significant operational benefits. Leadership now has clear visibility into task completion, discharge barriers, and process gaps, enabling data-driven decisions that improve both patient care and resource utilization.
“Dragonfly Navigate has eliminated the time our team spends figuring out what to focus on each day,” Ashworth said. “Instead of reviewing every chart, they can jump in and focus on the patient and their discharge needs.”
A Replicable Opportunity for Health Systems
West Tennessee Healthcare’s success demonstrates how AI-powered tools, guided by clinician expertise and human oversight, can transform discharge planning and reduce unnecessary inpatient days. For health systems facing persistent capacity constraints, workforce shortages, and increasing complexity across the care continuum, turning LOS data into actionable insight may become an increasingly important differentiator.
To learn more about West Tennessee Healthcare’s approach to length of stay optimization, read the full case study.
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