Medical Staff

Survey: MDs say patient flow affects quality of care

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, June 6, 2007

Physician leaders say that one of the most pervasive problems affecting quality of care is patient flow due to backups in the emergency department (ED), according to a recent survey by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE). 

One physician respondent wrote, "The hospital is overcrowded, resulting in closure of the ED to new patients 30% of the time," according to an ACPE release on the survey. Another response noted, "Patients are kept in the ED holding beds for up to two days, waiting for beds in the hospital. More inpatient beds are available, but floors are kept closed because staffing them would cost too much."

Some 1,155 physicians in hospitals, group practices, and other healthcare organizations participated in the 2007 Quality of Care Survey. The survey was conducted in February and the results were published in the May/June issue of The Physician Executive Journal of Medical Management, published by the ACPE.

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