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| Intelligence FREE REPORT MAY 2015 THE EXCEPTIONAL ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health Powered by C uncil HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA Access. Insight. Analysis. W W W. H E A LT H L E A D E R S M E D I A . C O M / I N T E L L I G E N C E NEW RESEARCH FROM HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA THE EXCEPTIONAL ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health NEW REPORT This report reveals how top organizations are improving ED efficiency—from telemedicine to care coordination to EHR—and what they are doing to streamline ED-to-inpatient throughput. •Find out how Lehigh Valley Health Network has cut two-and-a-half hours of dwell time in the ED by reducing the use of oral contrast before CT scanning •Learn how telemedicine can improve behavioral healthcare while reducing ED bottlenecks •Find out how the Brigham & Women’s Faulkner ED determines and implements a patient’s care plan faster by placing a diverse care team in the ED during initial examination and subsequent in-ED rounding •Discover how the proliferation of retail clinics and increased patient sophistication will affect the future of the ED For more information or to purchase this report, go to HealthLeadersMedia.com/Intelligence or call 800-753-0131. | Intelligence MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 3 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation About the Premium and Buying Power Editions This is a summary of the Premium edition of the report. In the In addition to this valuable survey data, you’ll also get the tools you full report, you’ll find a wealth of additional information. For need to turn the data into decisions: each question, the Premium edition includes overall response information, as well as a breakdown of responses by various • Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Lehigh factors: setting (e.g., hospitals, health systems), number of beds (for Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Lead hospitals), number of sites (for health systems), net patient revenue, Advisor for this Intelligence Report region, and assigned bed time (less than 2 hours or more). Available separately from HealthLeaders Media is the Buying Power A Foreword by Alex Rosenau DO, FACEP, CPE, Senior Vice • Three Case Studies featuring initiatives by Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts; edition, which includes additional data segmentation based on Seton Healthcare Family in Austin, Texas; Lehigh Valley Health purchase involvement, dollar amount influenced, and types of Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania products or services purchased. • A list of Recommendations drawing on the data, insights, and analysis from this report • A Meeting Guide featuring questions to ask your team MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 4 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Table of Contents Locked items are available in the Premium and Buying Power editions. Fig. 6: Operations Techniques to Increase ED Throughput Foreword Methodology 5 Respondent Profile 6 Analysis 7 Fig. 7: Operations Techniques to Optimize ED Throughput Fig. 8: Team Composition to Optimize ED Throughput Fig. 9: Team Composition to Improve ED Throughput Next Case Studies Next Three Years Three Years Multidisciplinary ED Team Improves Behavioral Patient Care Fig. 10:Status of ED-Related Investments Bedside Strategies to Speed Emergency Department Throughput Fig. 11: Status of IT/Analytics Usage Dedicated Psychiatric ED: Improved Throughput and Patient Care Fig. 12:Expected ED Area Increases Next Three Years Survey Results 15 Fig. 1: Annual Visits to ED Fig. 2: Greatest ED Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Fig. 13:Tactics to Minimize Avoidable ED Visits Fig. 14:Most Effective Care Continuum Providers/Services in Helping Patients Make More Appropriate Use of ED Fig. 3: Biggest Bottleneck Problems for ED Flow Recommendations Fig. 4: Average ED Wait Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Meeting Guide Fig. 5: Average Time Between Decision to Admit and Assigned Inpatient Bed This document contains privileged, copyrighted information. If you have not purchased it or are not otherwise entitled to it by agreement with HealthLeaders Media, any use, disclosure, forwarding, copying, or other communication of the contents is prohibited without permission. MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 5 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Methodology The 2015 ED Strategies Survey was conducted by the HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Unit, powered by the HealthLeaders Media Council. It is part of a series of monthly Thought Leadership Studies. In February 2015, an online survey was sent to the HealthLeaders Media Council and select members of the HealthLeaders Media audience. A total of 274 completed surveys are included in the analysis. The bases for the individual questions range from 217 to 274 depending on whether respondents had the knowledge to provide an answer to a given question. The margin of error for a base of 274 is +/-5.9% at the 95% confidence interval. Each figure presented in the report contains the following segmentation data: setting (hospital or health system), assigned bed time setting (less than 2 hours or more), number of beds (for hospitals), number of sites (for health systems), net patient revenue, and region. Please note cell sizes with a base size of fewer than 25 responses should be used with caution due to data instability. ADVISORS FOR THIS INTELLIGENCE REPORT The following healthcare leaders graciously provided guidance and insight in the creation of this report. Luis Lobon, MD Chief of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Kari Wolf, MD Vice President of Medical Affairs Seton Healthcare Family Austin, Texas Alex Rosenau, DO, FACEP, CPE Senior Vice Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network Allentown, Pennsylvania C uncil HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA Access. Insight. Analysis. Click for information on joining. UPCOMING INTELLIGENCE REPORT TOPICS JUNE Strategic Cost Control AUGUST Patient Experience JULY Care Continuum Coordination SEPTEMBER Physician-Hospital Alignment OCTOBER Population Health Management NOVEMBER Executive Compensation Click here to subscribe. ABOUT THE HEALTHLEADERS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE UNIT The HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Unit, a division of HealthLeaders Media, is the premier source for executive healthcare business research. It provides analysis and forecasts through digital platforms, print publications, custom reports, white papers, conferences, roundtables, peer networking opportunities, and presentations for senior management. Intelligence Report Senior Research Analyst MICHAEL ZEIS [email protected] Intelligence Report Research Editor-Analyst JONATHAN BEES [email protected] Vice President and Publisher RAFAEL CARDOSO [email protected] Media Sales Operations Manager ALEX MULLEN [email protected] Editorial Director EDWARD PREWITT [email protected] Intelligence Report Contributing Editor JACQUELINE FELLOWS [email protected] Managing Editor BOB WERTZ [email protected] Intelligence Report Design and Layout KEN NEWMAN [email protected] Intelligence Unit Director ANN MACKAY [email protected] Intelligence Report Cover Art DOUG PONTE [email protected] Copyright ©2015 HealthLeaders Media, a division of BLR, 100 Winners Circle, Suite 300, Brentwood, TN 37027 Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of HealthLeaders Media. Mention of products and services does not constitute endorsement. Advice given is general, and readers should consult professional counsel for specific legal, ethical, or clinical questions. MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 6 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Respondent Profile Respondents represent titles from across the various functions at hospitals and health systems. Title Type of organization Number of beds Base = 274 Base = 194 (Hospitals) Hospital71% 1–19949% Health system (IDN/IDS) 200–49934% 29% 500+17% Base = 274 50 Number of sites 40 Base = 80 (Health systems) 1–520% 30 6–2033% 21+48% 20 10 0 41% Senior leaders 34% Clinical leaders 16% Operations leaders 5% Marketing leaders 3% Financial leaders 1% Information leaders Senior leaders | CEO, Administrator, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Dir., Partner, Board Member, Principal Owner, President, Chief of Staff, Chief Information Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Medical Information Officer Operations leaders | Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Purchasing Officer, Asst. Administrator, Chief Counsel, Dir. of Patient Safety, Dir. of Purchasing, Dir. of Quality, Dir. of Safety, VP/Dir. Compliance, VP/Dir. Human Resources, VP/Dir. Operations/ Administration, Other VP Clinical leaders | Chief of Cardiology, Chief of Neurology, Chief of Oncology, Chief of Orthopedics, Chief of Radiology, Dir. of Ambulatory Services, Dir. of Clinical Services, Dir. of Emergency Services, Dir. of Inpatient Services, Dir. of Intensive Care Services, Dir. of Nursing, Dir. of Rehabilitation Services, Service Line Director, Dir. of Surgical/Perioperative Services, Medical Director, VP Clinical Informatics, VP Clinical Quality, VP Clinical Services, VP Medical Affairs (Physician Mgmt/MD), VP Nursing Financial leaders | VP/Dir. Finance, HIM Director, Director of Case Management, Director of Patient Financial Services, Director of RAC, Director of Reimbursement, Director of Revenue Cycle Marketing leaders | VP/Dir. Marketing/Sales, VP/Dir. Media Relations Information leaders | Chief Technology Officer, VP/ Dir. Technology/MIS/IT Region WEST: Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming 19% 20% 27% 34% MIDWEST: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin SOUTH: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Delaware NORTHEAST: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 7 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation ANALYSIS Addressing Flow, Inside and Out Finding solutions for emergency department patient flow requires internal and external approaches. MICHAEL ZEIS In addressing ED flow problems, one can look at the demand side (ED WHAT HEALTHCARE LEADERS ARE SAYING visitors), the supply side (inpatient beds, usually), and the efficiency of what happens within the ED itself. Of course, there are circumstances where approaching the demand side of ED volume makes sense, but efforts to stem patient flow should be undertaken while recognizing the patient’s role in the decision to seek treatment, and the patient’s self-appraisal of the urgency. Alex Rosenau, DO, FACEP, CPE, is senior vice chair of the department of emergency medicine for the Lehigh Valley Health Network of Allentown, Pennsylvania, which includes five hospitals, five emergency rooms, 17 community clinics, 12 health centers, and 10 ExpressCARE locations. He notes that it is not known whether a patient is nonemergent until that patient has been seen by physicians or other qualified medical professionals and a disposition has been made. The patient determines the need to be seen, and the ED staff determines the patient’s condition and makes decisions about what steps to take to stabilize the patient. “If you feel you need to be seen, I’m happy to see you,” Rosenau says. “We are the masters of unscheduled care, in the end. And most unscheduled care is a perceived emergency on the part of the patient.” “We have a dedicated social worker, a dedicated case manager, and dedicated pharmacists. We have tight relationships with FCHQs and community health clinics. We provide initial prescriptions and use a program to directly schedule patients into a clinic or physician office for follow-up to avoid readmissions.” —CEO for a medium hospital “For those with responsible family members or who are personally accountable, we offer education regarding cause of their current visit to minimize return. For those patients who are not reliable or are transiting through the area, we provide educational materials and hope they read/understand them.” —Chief financial officer for a small hospital “We use our EHR to track follow-up and make calls post-care.” —Chief operations officer for a small health system “We use discharge phone calls. There is discussion of the obligation of an on-call physician to see a patient at least once, regardless of ability to pay. We have conversations at medical executive and department meetings. There is direct feedback to department chairs if there are violations.” —Chief financial officer for a small hospital “In addition to referring patients back to their primary care physician, we are planning on opening an ED follow-up clinic where the ED can send a patient to be seen in 1–2 days. The clinic will assess the patient and make sure they get to the right specialist or PCP.” —Director of emergency services for a large hospital MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 8 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) Special attention for behavioral health. One-third of survey respondents (33%) say that patient flow is their greatest ED challenge, making it No. 1 among nine choices. Patient boarding is a top challenge for nearly as many: 29%. These 29% are broken into 10% who are challenged by boarding generally, and 19% who say their top challenge is boarding behavioral health patients. specialized behavioral health ED. “Daily I would get data on the number of patients sitting in EDs across our entire community waiting for a psych bed,” she says. “Usually it ranged from 15 to “We are the masters of unscheduled care, in the end. And most unscheduled care is a perceived emergency on the part of the patient.” Although there are a range of causes of patient flow problems, boarding 20. We weren’t discharging that is almost always caused by the lack of inpatient beds. Behavioral health many people every day, so we were patients present particular challenges. First, inpatient beds for behavioral never going to win that battle.” health patients are scarce. Second, providing care for behavioral health Wolf and Seton Healthcare patients places uncommon stress on ED resources—diagnosing and Family established a specialized stabilizing ED patients often requires specialized skills. And in the ED behavioral health ED and increased patient access to behavioral health and on the inpatient floors, behavioral health patients often need hazard- medical specialists via telepsychiatry; both are targeted at improving in- free rooms. Some have difficulty tolerating the normal hustle and bustle ED patient flow. of inpatient floors, to say nothing of the intensity that one sees in EDs now and then. Finally, behavioral health patients often need heightened monitoring by staff. —Alex Rosenau, DO, FACEP, CPE Especially after hours, telepsychiatry brings expertise to bear, often hastening a determination. And with a specialized behavioral health ED in the system, the other 10 EDs are freed from having to dedicate When it comes to behavioral health patients, the arithmetic works ED beds and staff to behavioral health patients, because EMTs deliver against the ED. Kari Wolf, MD, vice president of medical affairs for behavioral health patients to the specialized ED. But neither activity Seton Healthcare Family, an Austin, Texas–based health system with addresses demand, and neither addresses inpatient bed shortages. five medical centers, three community hospitals, and two rural hospitals serving 11 counties in central Texas, describes the behavioral health demand and supply the organization was facing prior to establishing a Inpatient beds: Influence from the ED. It’s not just behavioral health patients, of course, that create flow challenges. ED-to-inpatient transfers MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health PAGE 9 TOC Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) is cited by 69% of respondents as a top factor causing bottlenecks. But range of care, often provided by only 26% say they optimize ED throughput by ensuring the availability of the inpatient care team. In such inpatient beds. a way, delays for an inpatient bed do not delay receiving post-ED Luis Lobon, MD, is chief of emergency medicine at the not-for-profit stabilization care. Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, a 138-bed community hospital that merged with the 779-bed Brigham and Women’s Hospital Best to take a system approach. in 1998. He says the survey data might suggest a domain issue. The challenges presented by “To decongest our emergency department, it is important to know when patient discharge occurs.” —Luis Lobon, MD behavioral health patients and the “To decongest our emergency department, it is important to know bottlenecks caused by transfers to when patient discharge occurs. We have control over those treated and inpatient beds demonstrate how EDs are part of a broader system, and released from the ED, and we have become extremely efficient with our resolutions to ED problems need to take that systemwide view. throughput for ED patients treated and released. But we frequently really are unable to expedite the departure of those patients that require an Says Rosenau, lead advisor for this Intelligence Report, “In order for a inpatient admission.” complex adaptive system such as a hospital, together with an ED, to work well, you have to look at the entire system. It’s about facility capacity Says Wolf, “An ED medical director may have little ability to impact the and process, regulating your costs, living up to department of health availability of inpatient beds. And so I wouldn’t spend my time or effort regulations, the adoption of adequate outpatient infrastructure, and trying to move that needle.” But informal leverage can work. For patients flow considerations. We know that what you’re doing in the ED is very, who have been admitted but still occupy an ED bed, Wolf says, “Have the very important because 68% of all patients admitted to the hospital come nurses come down from the floor to the ED to round on the patient while through the ED now.” they’re waiting for their [inpatient] bed upstairs, and all of a sudden the bed opens up upstairs.” Seton Healthcare Family’s EHR supports in- Demographic impact on ED patients. With the lack of inpatient beds ED rounding; in fact, it uses an “overflow-admitted-bed” classification contributing so much to boarding problems and ED bottlenecks, why do on the record. That classification allows the patient to receive a broader 69% say that they are making or expect to make structural improvements MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 10 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) to their EDs as a way to improve throughput? Look at the demographics, as Rosenau describes it, one would Rosenau suggests. not consider and implement a particular improvement technique “When I started 27 years ago in the ED,” he says, “one ED bed was good by rote. The implementation must for 2,000 visits a year. Most people would say that today it’s somewhere be attempted with individual around 1,200 to 1,400 visits per year per bed.” Rosenau says EDs are circumstances in mind, given a seeing people with higher acuity levels, as well. “They’re older, they have fair trial, and modified or rejected more problems. Something like 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, from as appropriate. now through 2029. Considering those above 65 and especially above 75, that’s a group of people that needs medical care more often.” Efficiency and involvement. Construction can address capacity or out-of- Observation areas, for instance, “Have the nurses come down from the floor to the ED to round on the patient while they’re waiting for their [inpatient] bed upstairs, and all of a sudden the bed opens up upstairs.” contribute to ED throughput efficiency for 39% of respondents, —Kari Wolf, MD date facilities. But much of the action necessary to improve ED patient and another 23% expect to pursue flow is related to ED operations. While we can identify which tactics observation areas within three are most common and which will get the most attention, near term, we years. But the ED at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital does not should remember that most operations-enhancement techniques are have an observation area, and Lobon likes it that way. At Brigham and being considered or have been considered by virtually all who manage Women’s Faulkner, patients who require observation are admitted. emergency departments. Fast-track or split flow for low acuity patients (80%), streamlined registration (73%), and direct ED bedding (63%) “We try to transfer the patients that require admission of any type from received the highest mentions of tactics used now or expected to be the emergency department to the inpatient units as fast as possible,” pursued within three years. Says Lobon, “We take all of those as part he says. According to Lobon, not offering an in-ED cushion such as an of the same, which is basically the redesign of operations within the observation area has fostered commitment to ED throughput issues emergency department.” from other components of the hospital. He says, “Relationships have developed, agreements and guidelines have developed, accountability Especially if one accepts that the ED is part of a complex adaptive system, has been developed. Communication between ED leadership and the MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 11 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) rest of the community hospital leadership is very fluid, very dynamic. All beyond inpatient bed, solutions parties are extremely involved, invested on this emergency department in psychiatry, day care treatment throughput issue.” centers, crisis intervention units, nursing home, rehab facilities. The observation designation is used for a patient about whom a There are so many good things determination or care plan has not yet been made. But because an that they do, but they have not observation patient needs at least monitoring and often needs care and decreased our boarding.” other advanced support, some EDs are making their observation areas “In order for a complex adaptive system such as a hospital, together with an ED, to work well, you have to look at the entire system.” more efficient. Says Wolf, “Historically, people who are going to stay in That is because the constraints the ED for a 24-hour observation pending a decision on whether they that affect the organization need to be admitted have stayed in whatever ED bed they were assigned overall affect the case managers, to. Now EDs are starting to cohort observation beds together, because as well. Lobon explains, “Some of our emergency departments have flow you need to think about things like ordering meal trays and helping managers. At the end of the day, flow managers end up reaching the same patients with bathroom breaks, things that you don’t necessarily think bottlenecks that everyone does. They, too, are told no, there are no beds about for standard ED patients.” upstairs. So you still have to board those patients. I think the role of —Alex Rosenau, DO, FACEP, CPE nurse navigator in the ED becomes quite diluted because of that.” Case managers or nurse navigators are used to improve throughput by 51% of respondents, and another 24% expect to pursue case managers But case managers or nurse navigators can build and enhance or nurse navigators within three years. Advisors suggest that one should relationships with outside social services, which in some EDs will help have realistic expectations about the degree to which a case manager can throughput by directing ED visitors to other venues for care or help. resolve ED flow problems. Wolf explains how that helps. “A lot of homeless people come into the ER when it gets cold, or when they’re hungry, or if it’s raining. As much “We have a case manager on the day shift in our ED,” Rosenau says. as you can, you coordinate with other entities to get people access to “The case manager gives you the opportunity to look at other solutions food, access to shelter, or access to their medications. That’s going to MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health PAGE 12 TOC Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) keep them out of your ED. Those folks don’t tend to get admitted, so telemedicine works well when the inpatient side doesn’t have to deal with them. But the EDs deal with an intensivist can sit in front of them a lot.” a bank of computers and screens Telemedicine earning attention. Telemedicine can streamline the process and get information. And as long as there’s somebody at the of obtaining a determination, and is now in use by 28% of respondents. home hospital who can do the Over the next three years, an additional 27% expect to pursue procedures, they know that they telemedicine in their EDs, resulting in a combined 55%. For psychiatric can give advice to many intensive patients in particular, telemedicine can bring expertise to bear and allow care units.” a patient to proceed instead of wait. ED visits: concurrent factors. “Communication between ED leadership and the rest of the community hospital leadership is very fluid, very dynamic. All parties are extremely involved, invested on this emergency department throughput issue.” In the case of Seton Healthcare Family, telepsychiatry was brought in to More than three-quarters (78%) reduce unnecessary admissions—admissions that were ordered by ED of healthcare leaders expect ED doctors who may not have had the specialized training or experience to patient volumes to increase. order alternate care for psychiatric patients. Says Wolf, “On the inpatient Because several factors are side, we knew that we were getting a lot of people admitted who really pushing and pulling at the same didn’t need to be admitted. We implemented telepsychiatry because we time, ED leaders are not always able to attribute change to one thing knew that if we had some expertise in the EDs doing assessments, we or another. Nonetheless, survey results and comments from report would be able to divert admissions.” advisors point to several industry shifts to be aware of and be prepared to The applications for telemedicine are just emerging, and the healthcare —Luis Lobon, MD accommodate. industry is uncovering the areas where the care model will contribute. First, the growth and success of urgent care and convenient care settings “Telemedicine has a bright horizon,” says Rosenau. “We really don’t give patients choices, and they are making them. A portion of patients know what it’s going to do for us, in my opinion. But we know certain who visit urgent care centers actually need hospital-based services, things. For instance, it works very well with psychiatry. We also know though, and their visit to an urgent care center probably delays the MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health PAGE 13 TOC Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) hospital-based care they should get. But urgent care centers are popular Countering the shift to with patients because they address the access-to-care portion of the alternatives such as urgent care population health management concept, and address the value portion centers is the behavior of legions of population health management by (presumably) providing care at a of newly insured who, while they lower cost. nominally have access to primary care, find that they must depend An urgent care center provides an alternative for the portion of patients on an already-strained primary who otherwise visit the ED because they have difficulty getting a near- care delivery system. If they visit term appointment with their primary care physician, or cannot get a the ED because they cannot get primary care appointment at a time of day that makes sense for them. a timely appointment with their Lobon says cost of care might be behind the choice for some, as well. primary care physician, they find “At the same time that we saw healthcare reform in Massachusetts, we saw the emergence of stand-alone urgent care centers,” Lobon says. “We have seen a diversion of low-acuity patients to those urgent care centers. We believe that perhaps convenience has played a role in this. But we also believe that the … presence of copayments for emergency department usage … has encouraged people to seek less-expensive care.” A consequence of patients seeking alternatives is that EDs are seeing fewer lower-acuity patients, which is probably a good thing. Lobon asks, “Are those lower-acuity patients truly seeking urgent care centers, possibly with low copayments? Or are they not seeking care at all? Although one could say, ‘Yes, they’re being diverted to less costly clinical environments,’ we don’t know that. We don’t have the facts to prove that.” that their insurance coverage comes with copay responsibilities, and they are now responsible for paying for a portion of their ED “Now EDs are starting to cohort observation beds together, because you need to think about things like ordering meal trays and helping patients with bathroom breaks, things that you don’t necessarily think about for standard ED patients.” —Kari Wolf, MD care. Says Lobon, “Now they are also being held responsible for a copayment that—when they go to an emergency department—they were not responsible for prior to having any healthcare coverage at all.” Back door/front door. The chief culprit in creating ED throughput problems is, as Rosenau calls it, a problem with the back door—the lack of inpatient beds to receive patients who have been evaluated and stabilized by the ED. MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 14 Click here to learn more and order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation Analysis (continued) “The prime causes of boarding,” he says, “is no longer inefficiencies, but expensive, most appropriate it’s the lack of hospital inpatient capacity and the lack of outpatient place that gives similar outcomes. infrastructure.” While periodic surges in demand mean that boarding If it’s something as simple as problems caused by lack of inpatient beds may never be eliminated, your poison ivy rash, it could be organizations can and do implement systems to accommodate, which primary care, it could be an urgent generally includes activities such as closer teamwork with the inpatient care, it could be a retail clinic. But team responsible for patient discharges, or boarding in inpatient certainly if you have chest pain halls instead of in the ED. Some ED directors are in a better position that you think is a heart attack, we than others to help other groups recognize that ED crowding is an want you in the ER.” “Telemedicine has a bright horizon.” —Alex Rosenau, DO, FACEP, CPE organizationwide problem. A challenge going forward is to encourage patients to seek care in the best While attention must be paid to the back door, the front door is getting venue for their conditions, while at the same time knowing that, without additional attention, as well. Because the ED has experts who can provide a screening exam, the patients may not know what the best venue is for sophisticated care for a wide range of ailments, it attracts those with their conditions. Rosenau says bring ’em on, because then he knows that serious problems, those who don’t know whether their problem is serious patients are getting the right care. or not, those for whom the ED is their only choice, and, as Wolf noted, those who need to keep dry when it is raining. When it is determined that a patient’s visit to the ED may have been unnecessary, information can be provided so the patient can make ED teams are confident in their ability to make a determination about a better choice next time. The industry is on the path to improving the severity of a patient’s problem, and seem somewhat uncomfortable accessibility, and access to ED care should not diminish as access to care delegating that determination to others. “If we really expect a large in other settings increases. increase of nonemergent ED patients,” says Rosenau, “then we have to think about what’s the best way to send those patients to the least Michael Zeis is senior research analyst for HealthLeaders Media. He may be contacted at [email protected]. MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 15 here to Click here to learn more Click and order theorder! PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation BUYING POWER REPORT SAMPLE CHARTS FIGURE 2 | Greatest ED Challenge Q | What is the greatest challenge regarding your ED? Total responses 33% Patient flow 19% Boarding of behavioral health patients 12% Wait times 10% Patient boarding generally 4% Interaction with other departments • Uninsured and self-pay patients, which was the challenge mentioned most frequently last year (by 24%) in a similar question, is the top challenge for 13% this year. That includes 20% of those located in states not participating in Medicare expansion, compared to 8% of those in Medicare expansion states. 3% Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion • Wait time is the leading challenge for 19% of health systems, and only 10% of hospitals. Within the hospital setting, a higher percentage of large hospitals (24%) than small (4%) or medium (11%) say that wait time is their greatest ED challenge. 13% Uninsured and self-pay patients 1% 4% Other TAKEAWAYS • One-third (33%) of respondents say patient flow is their greatest challenge. Although we see slight differences by setting (35% of hospitals, 28% of health systems), patient flow is the challenge mentioned most frequently across all settings. Base = 274 WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Is there a problem area that is more fundamental to operating an ED than patient flow? We should not be surprised to see one-third citing patient flow as their greatest challenge. And because providing emergency care to those with behavioral health problems requires specialized clinicians and often specialized facilities, we see that as the top challenge for 19%. DATA SEGMENTATION Click on these icons to dig deeper VIEW BY ASSIGNED BED TIME VIEW BY SETTING VIEW BY NUMBER OF BEDS VIEW BY NUMBER OF SITES VIEW BY NET PATIENT REVENUE VIEW BY REGION MAIN CHART AND TAKEAWAYS MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health PAGE 16 TOC here to Click here to learn more Click and order theorder! PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation BUYING POWER REPORT SAMPLE CHARTS FIGURE 2 (continued) | Greatest ED Challenge Q | What is the greatest challenge regarding your ED? Information technology 30% Patient flow 19% Boarding of behavioral health patients 14% Uninsured and self-pay patients BUYING POWER VIEW BY PRODUCTS/SERVICES Who controls the money? Click on the icons to learn how they think Indicates the type of goods or services the respondent is involved in purchasing VIEW BY DOLLARS INFLUENCED VIEW BY INVOLVEMENT Indicates the role of the respondent in making purchasing decisions 10% Wait times 11% Patient boarding generally 7% Interaction with other departments Indicates the total dollar amount the respondent influences 3% Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion 0% 5% Other PRODUCTS/SERVICES Base = 135 Clinical products 33% Patient flow 19% Boarding of behavioral health patients 12% Wait times 3% 1% 7% Interaction with other departments 5% Interaction with other departments 5% Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion 0% Base = 179 Outsourcing services 32% Patient flow 14% Boarding of behavioral health patients 13% Wait times 12% Patient boarding generally 27% Patient flow 13% 22% Uninsured and self-pay patients 16% Wait times 11% Patient boarding generally Interaction with other departments 4% Interaction with other departments 4% Physician adherence to quality goals Base = 103 Other 0% Patient diversion 4% Base = 79 13% Patient boarding generally Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion 19% 8% Wait times 3% 4% 21% Uninsured and self-pay patients 3% 1% 23% Patient flow Interaction with other departments Other 4% Boarding of behavioral health patients Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion 1% Legal services Boarding of behavioral health patients 19% Uninsured and self-pay patients 7% 6% Base = 82 Base = 59 Consulting services 12% Other 2% Other 10% Patient boarding generally 15% Physician adherence to quality goals Patient diversion 4% Other 15% Uninsured and self-pay patients Wait times Patient boarding generally 4% Interaction with other departments Physician adherence to quality goals 24% Wait times 8% Patient boarding generally 17% Boarding of behavioral health patients 20% Uninsured and self-pay patients 28% Patient flow 22% Patient flow Boarding of behavioral health patients 15% Uninsured and self-pay patients Patient diversion Executive search Financial services 6% 4% 0% 6% Other Base = 48 MAY 2015 | The Exceptional ED: Telemedicine, Navigation, & Behavioral Health TOC PAGE 17 order! Click here to Click learnhere moretoand order the PREMIUM EDITION: case studies, actionable strategies, further segmentation PREMIUM REPORT SAMPLE CHART FIGURE 4 | Average ED Wait Time Q | What is the average time patients spend in the emergency department before they are seen by a healthcare professional? TAKEAWAYS • Patients at nearly one-quarter (23%) of hospitals are being seen by a healthcare professional in 14 minutes or less, almost twice the percentage at health systems (12%). Similarly, 21% of EDs at low-revenue organizations see patients in 14 minutes or less, compared to 13% of highrevenue organizations. Total responses 33% 24% 20% • Within the hospital setting, the average wait time to be seen by a healthcare professional for more than one-quarter (28%) of large hospitals is an hour or more, compared to 7% of small hospitals and 11% of medium hospitals. 16% 8% 0–14 minutes 15–29 minutes 30–44 minutes 45–59 minutes • The mean time to be seen at large hospitals is 54 minutes, compared to 33 minutes at small hospitals and 30 minutes at medium hospitals. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Generally speaking, larger organizations have longer wait times than smaller organizations. For instance, 28% from health systems report average wait times of an hour or more, compared to only 11% from hospitals. Of course, larger facilities tend to have more ED patient visits and often more complex operations to manage, but they also tend to have more resources. 60+ minutes Base = 225 Mean = 38 DATA SEGMENTATION Click on these icons to dig deeper VIEW BY ASSIGNED BED TIME VIEW BY SETTING VIEW BY NUMBER OF BEDS VIEW BY NUMBER OF SITES VIEW BY NET PATIENT REVENUE VIEW BY REGION MAIN CHART AND TAKEAWAYS C uncil The nation’s most exclusive healthcare intelligence community ➔ Be a voice Gain insight from your peers Shape the direction of the industry Join today at www.healthleadersmediacouncil.com