Multifaceted approach keeps patients flowing.

If your ED's volume is steadily rising, chances are you won't be able to maintain smooth patient flow with a single strategy. The managers of the ED at Middle Tennessee Medical Center have maintained impressive door-to-doc times by pursuing a strategy of constantly implementing new processes to speed patient flow. These processes include: having the lab hire a phlebotomist specifically for the ED, to ensure the efficient transmission of lab tests orders and results; adding point-of-care testing for more common and time-consuming screenings such as creatinine and pregnancy urine tests; installing a system that enables the staff to receive wireless EKGs from the field.