3 Ways Smartphones Improve The ED Throughput Process

Many hospitals consider the Emergency Department (ED) as their hospital’s front door. Some patients arrive seeking treatment for a sports injury or a bee sting. Others are rushed in by ambulance, suffering from a potentially life-threatening event.

With an unpredictable volume and wide variety of patient needs, caregivers and support staff must work efficiently to move patients in and out of the ED as quickly as possible. As the demand for beds exceeds supply at hospitals throughout the country, ED wait times are under increasing scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the total number of ED visits increased 34 percent between 1995 and 2010. At the same time, the supply of emergency departments declined by about 11 percent.