Quality improvements in hospital flow may lead to a reduction in mortality

Purpose The purpose of ths paper is to report that timely interventions to facilitate medical patient flow and reduce medical outliers may be associated with a reduction in hospital mortality. Design/methodology/approach Interventions to improve the flow of medical patients were used to unblock and facilitate the discharge process allowing a reduction in medical outliers. SPC run charts of mortality were used to quality control the changes. Findings Timeliness in daily senior medical review and discharge planning, a level 1 medical ward, and outreach including ALERT training and early warning scoring allowed a rationalisation in medical beds and a reduction in mortality for emergency medical admissions, reflected in a lower hospital standarised mortality rate (HSMR). Practical implications Interventions to improve flow can also lead to a reduction in mortality. Originality/value This paper emphasises how quantitative flow improvements can also generate qualitative improvements.