Meadows Slices ER Wait Times
Meadows Regional Medical Center has cut in half the length of time a patient stays in its emergency room by embracing the lean manufacturing practices first implemented in the automotive industry. But the hospital, unwilling to rest on that achievement, put in place in April a system to reduce ER wait times even further.
The 122-bed facility in Vildaltia, Ga., has reduced ER stays from 247 minutes to 125 minutes, which is making it possible for the department to treat more patients. Where, two years ago, the unit saw 60 patients a day, it now treats 100 or more people daily. (...)
healthdatamanagement - Mai 2009