SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Enhancing Clinical Care Through Hybrid Geographic Rounding: A Hospital Medicine Innovation

Pdf Summary

This document describes a hospital medicine innovation called <strong>Hybrid Geographic Rounding</strong>, designed to improve continuity of care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and operational efficiency across medical-surgical units.

The model assigns physician-APC teams to specific units on a weekly basis, allowing them to participate consistently in multidisciplinary rounds, respond quickly to codes and urgent issues, and maintain accountability for safety, quality, and patient experience at the unit level. A separate group of <strong>Flex clinicians</strong> helps balance census across units while preserving continuity for their own patients and communicating asynchronously with nursing and care management teams.

The approach combines the advantages of <strong>geographic alignment</strong> with the strengths of traditional rounding. It prioritizes unit-based workflows, standardized handoffs, and patient-centered decision-making without delaying bed placement or reducing throughput. Patients boarding in the ED or on non-hospital medicine units are preferentially managed by Flex clinicians, while new admissions are distributed fairly using a round-robin system. Patients with an assigned bed on a specific unit are routed to the corresponding unit team to preserve geographic consistency.

Reported outcomes include better team communication, improved patient and staff satisfaction, and greater operational efficiency. Importantly, the Length of Stay observed-to-expected ratio fell below 1 without increasing readmissions. The document concludes that, when tailored to local needs and supported by strong multidisciplinary collaboration and continuous feedback, Hybrid Geographic Rounding can improve inpatient care delivery and both clinical and operational performance.

Asset Subtitle

Shadi Jarjous

Meta Tag

Author List Shadi Jarjous

Category Innovations

Concept Hybrid Geographic Rounding Model

Concept Continuity of Care

Concept Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Concept Organizational Efficiency

Concept Unit-based Assignment

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Jefferson Health-Lehigh Valley Region

Presenting Author Shadi Jarjous

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

Hybrid Geographic Rounding

hospital medicine

continuity of care

interdisciplinary collaboration

geographic alignment

unit-based rounding

Flex clinicians

patient satisfaction

operational efficiency

length of stay

Hybrid Geographic Rounding Model

Continuity of Care

Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Organizational Efficiency

Unit-based Assignment