What You Should Know:
– A collaborative effort between Conduit Health Partners and Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center has yielded significant improvements in behavioral health patient care.
– The behavioaral health initiative, focused on streamlining transfers from the emergency department (ED) to appropriate care settings, has resulted in a remarkable 64% reduction in ED length of stay for these patients.
The Challenge: Rising Need, Strained Resources
Emergency departments across the country are facing a growing influx of patients with behavioral health needs, including those experiencing suicidal ideation. This trend places a significant burden on ED staff and resources, as these patients often require specialized care beyond the capabilities of an emergency setting. Furthermore, lengthy boarding times in the ED drive up healthcare costs and create a less than ideal environment for both patients and staff.
Conduit’s Data-Driven Approach
Conduit Health Partners, a healthcare transfer solutions provider, implements a nurse-driven model that leverages data to predict and manage patient volume. This proactive approach minimizes delays in care delivery through direct admissions, physician-to-physician consultations, and efficient emergency medical services (EMS) coordination.
Collaboration Leads to Efficiency Gains
Conduit collaborated with Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center to completely revamp their behavioral health patient transfer workflows within the ED. This initiative began with the development of a bedside checklist for nurses. Completing this checklist triggers the electronic generation of a bed request within the EPIC system, seamlessly initiating Conduit’s involvement when necessary.
Measurable Results Beyond Reduced Length of Stay
The streamlined workflow has led to a multitude of benefits beyond the impressive 64% reduction in ED length of stay. Here are some additional key metrics:
- 27% Reduction: Average number of phone calls needed from Conduit to the ED
- 50-Second Reduction: Talk time per call between Conduit and the ED
These improvements demonstrate a more efficient communication process, allowing ED staff to focus on providing immediate care while Conduit expedites placement in suitable behavioral health settings.
Expanding the Reach of Success
Based on the demonstrably positive outcomes at Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center, Bon Secours Mercy Health, the parent organization, is expanding the new workflow to other facilities. In 2024, the system will be implemented at Mercy Health – Dayton Springfield Emergency Department and Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital.
“Like many EDs across the country, we faced significant challenges getting behavioral health patients transferred to the right setting and level of care in a timely manner. This slowed down the care process for acute behavioral health patients in need of more appropriate therapeutic environments,” said Frank Farkash, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, with Bon Secours Mercy Health. “Using its nurse-first transfer services, the Conduit team helped us design workflows to improve and streamline the transfer process as well as empowered us with invaluable data-driven insights. Our team is very pleased with the expansion of the workflows to the other emergency departments in the market.”
