PHP96 Mitigating Emergency Department Over-Crowding Utilizing Focused Operations Management Tools

Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding (OC) is plaguing EDs worldwide with grave implications on patient and caregiver comfort and quality of care. Alleviating this problem tops agendas of governmental and professional agencies. Many contributing factors have been cited and many approaches have been tried, without widespread success. Focused Operations Management (FM) integrates novel managerial theories and practical tools {such as the theory of constraints (TOC) and the Pareto diagram} into a systematic approach, helping managers to analyze complex operational systems, find bottlenecks and root causes and finally, chart routes to improved throughput and quality. This approach has proved effective in the industry and service sectors, radically improving performance at little additional cost. The FM approach has never been implemented in the ED and could considerably enhance the management of its operations. In this first phase of the research, we use semi-structured interviews with experts, to identify potential high-yield interventions.