Optimizing Patient Flow in Preparation for the Flu Season

Webinar | Wednesday, October 23, 2019 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM EDT 

As winter approaches, hospitals brace themselves for yet another challenging flu season. Many years of improvement work has decreased the availability of proverbial low-hanging fruit. A higher level of patient flow optimization is called for. The Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) recommends a two-pronged approach; first to resolve issues for the upcoming winter (Short Term Flow Management), and second to create sustainable infrastructure (Long Term Flow Management) for increased resilience in the future.

This tried and tested approach has been described in the Joint Commission Resources’ recent book Optimizing Patient Flow: Advanced Strategies for Managing Variability to Enhance Access, Quality and Safety. Through this approach, hospitals have significantly decreased ED boarding and hospital length of stay, increased discharges before noon, and improved patient safety and satisfaction. This webinar will provide recommendations on how to prepare for the upcoming flu season and share implementation examples.

Presenters

Eugene Litvak, PhD is President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Optimization, and adjunct professor in Operations Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has served on various national committees for the Institute of Medicine (now National Academies of Medicine) and the American Hospital Association. He currently serves on the Executive Leadership Council, Strategic Innovation Engine, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dr. Litvak edited the above-mentioned book published by the Joint Commission Resources.

Sandeep Green Vaswani, MBA is Senior Vice President with the Institute for Healthcare Optimization. Sandeep is responsible for management of hospital flow improvement initiatives. He has led patient flow redesign initiatives at a range of US and international healthcare delivery organizations including academic medical centers, community hospitals, primary care facilities, as well as multi-hospital programs such as the CMS-funded Partnership for Patients initiative in New Jersey, and the National Health Service program in Scotland.

Peter Viccellio, MD, FACEP is professor of emergency medicine, and serves as Vice Chairman and clinical director of the department at Stony Brook, as well as Associate Chief Medical Officer for the hospital. Dr. Viccellio has lectured and published on issues related to overcrowding, and led the establishment of full capacity protocol at Stony Brook University Hospital, which has been emulated internationally. Dr. Viccellio is lead author for Chapter 8: Right Focus, Right Solution: How Reducing Variability in Admission and Discharge Improves Hospital Capacity and Flow.