Hospitals eager for process improvement in the ER
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Hospitals in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, area are cracking down on healthcare process improvement efforts in advance of the government potentially basing future reimbursement payments on wait times and emergency room (ER) speed, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Although nothing is confirmed yet, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would collect data on how long it takes for hospitals to admit ER patients to inpatient rooms, beginning January 1 of this year.
"If the future holds true for past CMS practices, these metrics might well be factored into hospital reimbursement one day," according to a report from Florida-based healthcare consulting firm Studer Group, as quoted by the news source.
In addition to potentially affecting reimbursement payments, low ER wait times are also a powerful selling point when it comes to competition among healthcare facilities in the area. Mercy Health's Jewish Hospital is advertising its successful process improvement efforts with billboards stating, "The emergency room is no place to wait."
Hospitals looking to reduce wait times without compromising the quality of patient care can bring in a Lean Six Sigma consultant to identify areas of waste and inefficiency.
Financial institutions achieve operational efficiency through technology
Although nothing is confirmed yet, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would collect data on how long it takes for hospitals to admit ER patients to inpatient rooms, beginning January 1 of this year.
"If the future holds true for past CMS practices, these metrics might well be factored into hospital reimbursement one day," according to a report from Florida-based healthcare consulting firm Studer Group, as quoted by the news source.
In addition to potentially affecting reimbursement payments, low ER wait times are also a powerful selling point when it comes to competition among healthcare facilities in the area. Mercy Health's Jewish Hospital is advertising its successful process improvement efforts with billboards stating, "The emergency room is no place to wait."
Hospitals looking to reduce wait times without compromising the quality of patient care can bring in a Lean Six Sigma consultant to identify areas of waste and inefficiency.
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