Our ED is extremely busy and diversion often occurs because of the lack of beds available in the department. Many patients wait to be admitted for prolonged periods in the ED. In an attempt to improve the admission process to BWH and Faulkner Hospital, the use of direct admissions to the floor for appropriate patients is being encouraged. These would be patients that do not require evaluation in the ED and those who can be on care units without immediate house staff attention. In order to maintain the highest quality of care and patient and staff satisfaction, physicians should adhere to the following process:
- Patients must have been seen by a physician within 24 hours of admission, or have a specific diagnosis for which care plans have been established, such as the Oncology patients with fever and neutropenia.
- The admitting inpatient attending physician must be aware of the admission and take responsibility for the patient.
- A physician must contact
- Admitting to arrange bed
- Nursing in the receiving area
- responsible house staff.
- The sending physician must provide
- Complete outpatient data (clinical information and test results)
- Orders to provide initial care for patient until housestaff is able to write full admitting orders
- Contact name and phone number for further information.
- The patient should arrive between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Ideally, these patients will go directly to the care unit. Admitting will come to the care unit to fully register the patient.
If you have any suggestions or would like to assist with the program, please contact Sylvia Mckean, MD at ext. 2-5700 or Robert C. Goldszer MD, MBA at ext. 2-8988.