Hospital Medicine patient flow is a complex process. Some of the barriers to patient flow include inefficient discharge processes, poor communication, delay in specialist consultation, diagnostic testing delays and patient complexity. All these factors are interconnected in an inpatient hospitalization. The complexity arises because how much each factor contributes can vary by patient. Current practice is to work on these problems in silos rather than communicatiing barriers as a group effectively.      

Improving patient flow would provide benefit to City of Hope Health System. This benefit may be seen by improving staff efficiency, improved patient experience, and lowering costs by improving resource utilization. Improved efficiency by reducing wait times for testing can reduce observed over expected (O/E) length of stay. Improved inpatient bed utilization improves hospital bed turnover, which helps more patients to be admitted and treated. Improved staff efficiency can help minimize delays and allows health care providers to focus on patient care and less on administrative tasks. Overall better efficiency also reduces wait times for patients which can help improve patient experience.