Patient beds in hallways used as tactic to prevent ER overcrowding
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
October 29, 2008
Some hospitals are putting emergency room (ER) patients' beds in the hallways of the rest of the hospital as a means of motivating staff members to hasten the admission process, reports The Associated Press. The tactic seems to work, according to a new study out of Stony Brook Medical Center in Stony Brook, NY. Researchers showed that no harm came to emergency department patients ready for admission who were placed in the hallways of other departments.
Additionally, staff members were more apt to quickly admit these patients because the entire hospital becomes involved in the process of admission. Keeping these patients in the ER until there is a space for them to be admitted allows the rest of the hospital to put them out of their minds, the article says. By using this tactic, hospitals may cut back on the number of patient deaths related to patient boarding in the emergency room.
To read the article, click here.
