Healthcare Organizations Preparedness for Capacity Management Challenges

GE Healthcare Performance Solutions, a unit of General Electric Corp., announced the results of a new survey that shows U.S. healthcare organizations may not be prepared to tackle the serious capacity and patient flow challenges ahead:

554 percent of respondents indicated that existing patient flow already feels congested and they expect their organizations to continue to grow. Further, 66 percent cited their discharge processes as inefficient.

·         Nearly 60 percent of the healthcare leaders surveyed reported having evaluated and planned for multiple future scenarios, including the impact of healthcare reform, changes in demand, and other external factors. Yet, only 35 percent acknowledge they will be able to predict their capacity needs in short and long term, or that they will be able to match capacity with demand.

·         62 percent of leaders surveyed said they cannot quantify the impact of surgeries on patient flow through the rest of the hospital on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis. These leaders were split evenly (50/50) when asked whether or not their surgeons had trouble finding time on the operating room (OR) schedule.

·         57 percent of respondents report having an effective bed management system. However, the same percentage said they lack an effective bed turnover process.

Source: GE Healthcare Performance Solutions