SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-From the Lounge to the Rounds: Implementing a Scripted Interdisciplinary Rounds in a Community Hospital

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This project describes a hospital quality improvement initiative at Huntington Hospital focused on reducing Length of Stay (LOS) through standardized Interdisciplinary Rounds (IDRs). The authors argue that lowering LOS improves not only financial performance, but also patient safety, outcomes, and resource use.<br /><br />The intervention aimed to create a consistent, scripted IDR process across inpatient medical-surgical and telemetry units. Key components included:<br />- a standardized checklist used by all team members for every patient,<br />- a fixed hospital-wide time for rounds so all disciplines are prepared,<br />- and walking rounds conducted in the hallway to support real-time communication.<br /><br />The rationale is that direct, standardized communication reduces delays, missed information, and misunderstandings that can worsen care plans or lead to adverse events. By improving coordination among the interdisciplinary team, IDRs were expected to strengthen patient experience, efficiency, and safety.<br /><br />The results suggest sustained improvement in the LOS Index after implementation, along with better HCAHPS scores related to teamwork and improved 30-day readmission rates. The project also showed progress toward 2024/2025 average LOS targets. The authors conclude that standardized IDRs can meaningfully improve care coordination and operational performance, especially when tailored to unit-specific needs.<br /><br />A major takeaway is that evidence-based practices are more likely to succeed when built on a clear, standardized structure first. The project’s scope was limited to inpatient medical-surgical/telemetry units, with emergency, outpatient, psychiatric, and orthopedic post-surgical units excluded.

Asset Subtitle

George Surguladze

Meta Tag

Author List George Surguladze, Jamie Cristallo, Leah Fow, Sanjeev Sharma

Category Innovations

Concept Interdisciplinary Rounds

Concept Length of Stay

Concept Patient Safety

Concept Care Plan

Concept Standardized Process

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Northwell

Presenting Author George Surguladze

Track Communication

Keywords

Length of Stay

Interdisciplinary Rounds

Hospital Quality Improvement

Patient Safety

Care Coordination

Standardized Communication

Readmission Rates

HCAHPS Scores

Medical-Surgical Units

Telemetry Units

Interdisciplinary Rounds

Length of Stay

Patient Safety

Care Plan

Standardized Process