Becker's recently compiled a list of the hospitals and health systems with the shortest emergency department visit times. Here are what the leaders of three said it took to get there.
CMS released its Timely and Effective Care-Hospital data July 31, which included ED visit data from October 2022 through September 2023. Many of the best-timed hospitals are small community or critical access hospitals that may not see as many patients as level 1 or 2 trauma centers.
Emily Whitson, COO of Hopedale (Ill.) Medical Complex, told Becker's its physician practice model has been the most helpful element in speeding up emergency department visits. Because the majority of ED patients are previous Hopedale patients, the on-duty physician can often speak with the primary care physician, who has a deeper understanding of the patient's medical history.
Keeping the ED well-staffed and having a nursing administrator on shift who can assist with care when necessary is also helpful for the critical access hospital, Ms. Whitson said.
"There are a lot of support avenues and consultation avenues that we have to try and keep the ball rolling and get the patients taken care of in an expedited manner," she said.
The first five to 10 minutes are the most important part of any assessment, said Travis Buckner, DO, emergency department medical director at Mercy Hospital Tishomingo (Okla.), a 25-bed critical access hospital.
"It's all about getting into the room quickly," he told Becker's. Because there will always be some kind of a wait for labs and imaging, starting an IV and completing bloodwork and the initial assessment within ten minutes helps to decrease downtime for the patient, he said.
It is also helpful that Mercy's radiology and lab departments' turnaround time on basic labs and X-rays is about 15 minutes, Hugh Matchen, ED coordinator at the facility, said.
While emergency department patient volumes tend to coincide with the size of the facility and the community it is in, the same is true for staffing. Because of the relatively limited staffing at Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital in White Hall, W.Va., teamwork among the staff and collaboration through departments has been key in reducing ED visit times, Chief Administrative Officer Christopher Edwards, DO, told Becker's.
"Everybody really pulls in and works as a team and does multiple functions to ensure good patient flow," which has been ingrained in the facility since it opened three years ago, Dr. Edwards said.
Potential hurdles to keeping visits short include transfers and ambulance availability, Ms. Whitson said. Dr. Edwards also noted that the availability of emergency services personnel and transporting patients to higher levels of care can be challenging.
Lori McMillin, administrator of Mercy Hospital Tishomingo, told Becker's speed should not come at the expense of quality care.
"If you're fast but you're leaving things out or you're not covering all the bases, you're not doing patients a service," Ms. McMillin said. "And I think that our team, because they do communicate so well, are able to deliver that care in an efficient, but also a quality way."