Cath Lab Re-Engineering

Similar to the Operating Room (OR), the Cath Lab can experience flow and access problems that affect other services with whom they directly interact (e.g., telemetry units) or with whom they compete for hospital resources (e.g., the Emergency Department). As in the OR, procedures done in the Cath Lab have unique requirements when it comes to urgency, duration of procedure, and need for downstream resources. Furthermore, there are different patient streams that compete both for Cath Lab access and downstream resources, such as telemetry beds.

Do You Experience any of these issues?

  • Long waiting times for Cath Lab patients needing emergent or urgent procedures
  • Cancellation or postponement of elective procedures
  • High Cath Lab overtime
  • Poor Cath Lab utilization
  • Minimal throughput (i.e., Low Cath Lab patient volume)
  • High cost per procedure
  • Poor access to telemetry beds
  • Low patient and provider satisfaction score

The benefits of Cath Lab redesign can include:

  • Reduction in waiting times for placement in an inpatient bed for elective Cath Lab patients thereby reducing overall hospital LOS
  • Increase in percentage of patients placed in the preferred unit based on their condition
  • Improving access to telemetry beds
  • Additional increases in Cath Lab procedure throughput
  • Additional decreases in Cath Lab overtime
  • Reduction in refusals of transfers requiring Cath Lab access
  • Improvements in inpatient quality of care and patient safety
  • Greater patient and provider satisfaction

Results from organizations that have worked with IHO »

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