SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Streamlining Care: How a Hospital's Clinical Decision Unit Reshapes Observation Length of Stay

Pdf Summary

This poster summarizes a retrospective observational study of a Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) at a 400-bed community hospital in Florida, examining whether the CDU improved observation care efficiency from January 2021 through November 2025. The study focused on patients placed under observation status and tracked several process measures: average observation length of stay (LOS), time from observation start to history and physical (H&P) completion, time from discharge order to actual discharge, and the average number of specialty consults.<br /><br />The results show a clear downward trend in observation LOS over the study period, falling from 38.16 hours in 2021 to 26.34 hours in 2025. Discharge order-to-discharge time also improved substantially, decreasing from 9.66 hours to 3.28 hours. H&P completion times improved as well, dropping from about 1.9 hours to 0.67 hours by 2024–2025. The average number of specialty consults remained relatively stable, with only minor variation across years.<br /><br />The conclusion is that implementing and standardizing CDU protocols helped streamline early patient evaluation, reduce unnecessary specialty consultations, and improve discharge workflows. Overall, the CDU appears to have reduced observation LOS and improved patient flow and throughput in this community hospital setting.

Asset Subtitle

Martin Silguero Jr.

Meta Tag

Author List Kimberly Zuzak, Martin Silguero Jr., Ruby Ruby Sahoo

Category Innovations

Concept Clinical Decision Unit

Concept Observation Length of Stay

Concept Observation Status

Concept Length of Stay

Concept Hospital Flow

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine

Presenting Author Martin Silguero Jr.

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

Clinical Decision Unit

observation care

retrospective observational study

length of stay

history and physical

discharge workflow

patient throughput

specialty consults

community hospital

Florida hospital

Clinical Decision Unit

Observation Length of Stay

Observation Status

Length of Stay

Hospital Flow