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The Need to Address ED Crowding Tutorials

Medical Team Looking at Xray Nurse Talking with Senior Patient
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Improving patient flow in the Emergency Department (ED) is a focus for many hospitals. In this video series, Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG) will impart the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) "Improving Patient Flow and Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: A Guide for Hospitals." HSAG will walk-through each of the step-by-step instructions from the AHRQ Guide for planning and implementing patient flow improvement strategies. Designed to allow for self-paced learning, each of the video tutorials addresses a subtopic, so you may skip ahead as you wish.

Resources: Use the AHRQ Guide Improving Patient Flow and Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: A Guide for Hospitals and the Implementation Plan Template (adapted from the AHRQ Guide). Rely on the HSAG Implementation Plan handout to help you apply your learnings.

Part 1: The Need to Address ED Crowding (Handout)

  • Explain how ED crowding impacts quality, costs, and community trust
  • Review related Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program measures

Part 2: Forming a Flow Team (Handout)

  • Analyze why a multidisciplinary team is crucial to improving patient flow
  • Describe various team members' roles for improving patient flow
  • Review other considerations when forming a patient flow team

Part 3: Measuring ED Performance (Handout)

  • Describe the importance of measurement in managing variation
  • Compare three areas of performance measurement
  • List important considerations for transforming data into meaningful information

Part 4: Identifying Strategies (Handout)

  • List performance improvement methodologies and tools that identify roadblocks to patient flow
  • Identify resources that describe what other hospitals have done to improve patient flow

Part 5: Preparing to Launch (Handout)

  • Recognize how to create an implementation plan, following steps 1–4
    • Step 1: Set goals and strategies
    • Step 2: Plan the approach
    • Step 3: Estimate time and expenses
    • Step 4: Identify performance measures

Part 6: Facilitating Change and Anticipating Challenges (Handout)

  • Apply tactics that facilitate change
  • Address challenges and staff member resistance

Part 7: Sharing Results (Handout)

  • Discuss the importance of sharing results internally and externally

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