Impact of Throughput Optimization on Intensive Care Unit Occupancy

Abstract

Intensive care unit (ICU) resources are scarce, yet demand is increasing at a rapid rate. Optimizing throughput efficiency while balancing patient safety and quality of care is of utmost importance during times of high ICU utilization. Continuous improvement methodology was used to develop a multidisciplinary workflow to improve throughput in the ICU while maintaining a high quality of care and minimizing adverse outcomes. The research team was able to decrease ICU occupancy and therefore ICU length of stay by implementing this process without increasing mortality or readmissions to the ICU. By improving throughput efficiency, more patients were able to be provided with care in the ICU.

The Boarding Patient: Effects of ICU and Hospital Occupancy Surges on Patient Flow

“…While ICU service completion is determined by the attending ICU physician, boarding time is more discretionary, potentially affected by a host of external factors including operational or staffing constraints, ward bed availability, and competing priorities for ward bed assignment (e.g., to offload the ICU, ED, or post-anesthesia care unit; to receive more elective admissions or direct admissions from the clinic). This conjecture is supported by the hospital management literature that examines how bed assignment and rationing in times of congestion are employed as a means to maintain patient throughput (Jweinat et al 2013, Reddy et al 2015). Our study is the first to empirically measure ICU boarding in a large ICU patient cohort.…”

“…2013, Reddy et al. 2015). Our study is the first to empirically measure ICU boarding in a large ICU patient cohort.…”