We were recently retained at a 250 bed hospital in the southeast for a productivity study. Of the many areas we examined, one involved hourly rounds (which have been incorporated into VHA’s Return to Care). 

At this facility, their push to make hourly rounds was a new initiative – pro-actively asking the patients whether they are in need of any assistance, making sure they are comfortable –  in some cases making sure they get up and ambulate, perhaps taking them to the restroom if necessary, and so on.  And there was initial staff resistance because, at face value, it just added to the workload.  

When hospital management asked us to help monitor the impact, two notable items emerged. First of all, our measurements revealed that there was a 30-40% reduction in call lights after the rounds had been fully in place.  And second, after the three-month mark, we also saw a notable improvement in patient satisfaction scores. 

Spending more time at the bedside is desirable and logical for improving patient outcomes – in most of the facilities we analyze, the nurses are disproportionately consumed with activities such as getting supplies, finding equipment and charting/documentation –  yet, like so many other “logical” conclusions in the healthcare environment, it’s often difficult to achieve the proper buy-in to successfully institute the change. 

In this case, a few basic measurements went a long way in enabling our client to quantify the value on the 4,000 some rounds occurring every day, including a decrease in the variable demand for attention by the patient, and a proactive approach in securing a healthy patient outcome.