Resources for the Emergency
Department Staff

It is important for hospitals and urgent care facilities to take steps toward improving the emergency department experience and total times. Press Ganey offers comprehensive measurement and improvement solutions to help hospitals improve the patient experience.

Hospital Administrator Tip Sheet

By better understanding the patient perspective, hospital administrators can make positive changes to improve their service. The Press Ganey Consulting Group regularly helps hospitals improve their facilities and service and has compiled a few top-line solutions to help administrators improve their emergency department and their patients’ satisfaction.

Key Insights From the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report

The June 2006 IOM report, Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point, underscores the importance of the critical challenges faced by emergency departments in the United States, including overcrowding, ambulance diversions and inefficient patient flow and hospital operations. According to the report:

• "Hospital chief executive officers should adopt enterprise-wide operations management and related strategies to improve the quality and efficiency of emergency care."
• "By smoothing the inherent peaks and valleys in patient flow, and eliminating the artificial variabilities that unnecessarily impair patient flow, hospitals can improve patient safety and quality while simultaneously reducing hospital waste and cost."