SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Earlier Medically Ready for Discharge Date Entry Associated With Lower Unnecessary Bed Days

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The document describes a quality improvement study evaluating whether earlier entry of a “Medically Ready for Discharge Date” (MRDD) in the electronic health record reduces unnecessary bed days and hours. MRDD was added to help staff better coordinate discharge planning and improve patient flow in a capacity-constrained hospital system.<br /><br />Using data from 112,930 patient visits across four hospitals from January 2021 to July 2022, the authors examined the relationship between MRDD timing and unnecessary bed use. They also conducted a subgroup analysis of 33,771 medicine and pediatric patients, using descriptive statistics, multivariable regression, and tree-based machine learning methods.<br /><br />The main finding was that earlier notice of medical readiness was associated with fewer unnecessary bed days. Specifically, longer delays between admission and the first MRDD entry, and longer gaps between the first and last MRDD values, were linked to increased unnecessary bed days. This suggests that advanced discharge planning helps reduce avoidable hospital time.<br /><br />Other factors associated with more unnecessary bed days included Friday or Monday discharge, discharge to a facility rather than home, certain insurance types (such as VA, managed Medicare, or Medicaid), Black race, and older age. Results varied somewhat between medicine and pediatric patients.<br /><br />The study concludes that entering MRDD earlier can improve discharge efficiency, reduce unnecessary bed use, and save significant costs—potentially millions of dollars—in a strained health care system.

Asset Subtitle

Keely E. Dwyer-Matzky

Meta Tag

Author List Dessislava Pachamanova, Keely E. Dwyer-Matzky, Vera Tilson

Category Research

Concept Medically Ready for Discharge Date

Concept Excess Days

Concept Discharge Planning

Concept Discharge Delay

Concept Unnecessary Bed Hours

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of Rochester Medical Center

Presenting Author Keely E. Dwyer-Matzky

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

medically ready for discharge date

MRDD

discharge planning

unnecessary bed days

patient flow

electronic health record

quality improvement

hospital capacity

discharge efficiency

healthcare utilization

Medically Ready for Discharge Date

Excess Days

Discharge Planning

Discharge Delay

Unnecessary Bed Hours