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MA hospitals find new waiting spots for patients

Quality Improvement Monitor, March 10, 2005

Massachusetts hospitals may now place patients waiting for rooms in hallways on regular inpatient floors to get them closer to specialized care, according to The Boston Globe.

The new policy from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health began allowing the practice in January, according to the Globe. Hospitals may place waiting patients in corridors as long as they do not block fire exits or normal hallway traffic.

The state also plans to begin monitoring on a Web site the number of patients waiting for rooms, the Globe reported.

"Last winter and this winter, we've experienced levels of peak demand where there are very few beds and people boarding in the emergency departments," said Paul Dreyer, director of the department's Division of Health Care Quality.

Officials could also force hospitals to cancel elective surgeries if the situation fails to improve, although the state has never taken such a step in the past, the Globe said.

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