Improving the Efficiency of an Emergency Department

“Voice of the Stakeholder†data collected from Patients and Hospital Administrators showed that both groups believe that “time to see a doctor†is the most critical metric in an Emergency Department (ED). Further research determined that controlling “inpatient bed assignments†was the most critical in-process variable to effect the “time to see a doctor.†This paper reports a dramatic reduction in the average time a patient waits to see a doctor in an Emergency Department, as well as improvements in other key metrics.