Hospitals stand to lose millions of dollars in revenue when patients leave the emergency department without being seen, according to a whitepaper from CEP America.
CEP America analysts estimate the revenue generated to the hospital from an ED outpatient visit is roughly $500 per patient. Hospital EDs with an annual volume of 50,000 patients stand to lose $1 million in outpatient revenue for every 5.5 patients lost per day and $2 million in outpatient revenue for every 10.9 patients lost per day.
The lost revenue could stretch even further, as lost ED patients also means lost inpatient revenue. "At a 15 percent hospital admission rate from your ED and an inpatient collection rate average of $10,000 per hospitalization for your inpatients, the additional revenue garnered in this scenario approaches an additional $4 million," the authors wrote.
Because lost revenue could stretch to $5 million or higher, CEP America recommended three strategies for hospitals to reduce their patients who "left without being seen":
1. Decrease time to provider by running a staffing analysis.
2. Expand the ED virtually with triage and "fast track" lanes.
3. Focus on the patient experience.
CEP America analysts estimate the revenue generated to the hospital from an ED outpatient visit is roughly $500 per patient. Hospital EDs with an annual volume of 50,000 patients stand to lose $1 million in outpatient revenue for every 5.5 patients lost per day and $2 million in outpatient revenue for every 10.9 patients lost per day.
The lost revenue could stretch even further, as lost ED patients also means lost inpatient revenue. "At a 15 percent hospital admission rate from your ED and an inpatient collection rate average of $10,000 per hospitalization for your inpatients, the additional revenue garnered in this scenario approaches an additional $4 million," the authors wrote.
Because lost revenue could stretch to $5 million or higher, CEP America recommended three strategies for hospitals to reduce their patients who "left without being seen":
1. Decrease time to provider by running a staffing analysis.
2. Expand the ED virtually with triage and "fast track" lanes.
3. Focus on the patient experience.
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