With 20% of our patients being discharged by 1 p.m., this low rate reflected the daily struggles of coordinating care, removing barriers, and ensuring a smooth transition home for our patients. Recognizing the need for a change, we reimagined our discharge process, shifting our focus from same-day reactions to proactive, next-day planning. This simple yet powerful change has transformed our patient flow and led to meaningful improvements in care continuity.

A New Approach to Patient Discharge

Our new workflow is built on the principle of forward-thinking communication. Previously, our daily meetings at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. focused on identifying and solving same-day discharge barriers. But this reactive approach often led to delays. Our teams decided to flip the script by introducing a dedicated 4 p.m. meeting led by our House Supervisor. This meeting focuses on identifying all potential discharges for the next day and proactively addressing any potential obstacles.

To keep the momentum going, we added a 2 a.m. meeting to get an early jump on updating barrier statuses, followed by a 9 a.m. review to finalize plans for patients slated to leave by 1 p.m. The Assistant Nurse Manager is the primary lead to identify patients for an upcoming discharge and the House Supervisor assists in predicting discharges when patient volume is low. This new process has significantly strengthened communication among our teams and has created a more efficient and reliable path for patient transitions.

Measurable Improvements in Patient Care

The results of our new approach speak for themselves. Before these changes, the average time from a patient’s discharge order to their actual departure was a lengthy 260.7 minutes. With our revised workflow, that average has dropped to 243.5 minutes — a clear sign that our new process is helping patients leave the hospital more quickly.

While the percentage of discharge orders written by 11 a.m. has remained steady, the reduction in overall processing time proves our proactive planning is working. We’re getting patients home sooner once the order is in, which not only improves our hospital’s throughput but also enhances patient satisfaction. Our discharge-by-1 p.m. rate has steadily climbed to an average of 30%, demonstrating that a focus on early planning and teamwork can have a huge, positive impact on both our staff and the patients we serve.