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Advanced Strategies for Managing Variability to Enhance Access, Quality, and Safety
Ending the Throughput Crisis: Transforming Safety, Staffing, and Financial Performance.
60-Minute Webinar Agenda
Monthly Newsletter
June 2026
In this issue:
• The Institute for Healthcare Optimization’s Patient Flow Assessment Program
• Watch the new IHO sponsored webinar:Ending the Throughput Crisis
• Variability in Elective Admissions and Discharge Activity are shown to impact hospital capacity
The Institute for Healthcare Optimization’s Patient Flow Assessment Program is now currently enrolling hospitals. Please reach out for more information:
Individualized assessment of your hospital:
• Individualized analysis based on your own hospital’s data
• Identify and quantify bottlenecks in patient flow
• Identify and quantify sources of artificial variability
• Identify real solutions proven to:
◦ Improve timely patient access, placement, and throughput
◦ Improve clinical patient outcomes and experience
◦ Improve work-life balance for providers and staff
◦ Improve financial outcomes
On May 13th, IHO sponsored a webinar focused on providing real world solutions to the crisis of patient flow in hospitals. Our panel of renowned experts explained the challenge posed by the competition for inpatient beds and resources by emergency patients and elective surgical patients, and highlighted the mismatch in resources when emergency patients arrive at the hospital consistently throughout the week, while elective patient admissions are batched to early weekdays — causing days of peak bed demand, leading to stress on staff and back-ups for emergency patients.
Eugene Litvak, PhD and Julia Krol, RN, BSN, MBA
Provided an overview of the challenges hospitals are currently facing with patient flow
Shaf Keshavjee, MD
A Thoracic and Lung Transplant Surgeon whose hospital has implemented significant transformation work to improve patient flow using IHO Variability Methodology®
Peter Viccellio MD, FACEP
An Emergency Medicine Physician with extensive experience in transforming ED patient flow
Linda Laskowski Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, NEA-BC, NREMT, FAWM, FAEN, FAAN
Shared her perspective as an ED nurse on how these patient flow issues can impact staff, and how they can be improved
Variability in Elective Admissions and Discharge Activity are shown to impact hospital capacity
Hospital overcrowding is often blamed on emergency department demand, but research has found the bigger driver may be variability in elective admissions and discharge practices. A recent analysis of state-wide hospital patterns in New York challenges common assumptions about hospital crowding and offers actionable insights for healthcare leaders focused on efficiency, staffing, and patient flow. Discover how data-driven operational changes could improve hospital resilience and care delivery:
Benefits from working with the Institute for Healthcare Optimization
The Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) is an independent not-for-profit research, education and service organization focused on bringing the science and practice of operations management to healthcare delivery
IHO has a 20+ year history of helping hospitals and healthcare delivery organizations improve operational efficiency in patient flow while simultaneously improving patient outcomes and staff work balance.
IHO is a consulting leader, using state-of-the-art analytics to help healthcare leaders fully understand their operations, and to identify optimal solutions to complex problems around capacity planning, staffing, and operational process design.
Recommended Reading
Advanced Strategies for Managing Variability to Enhance Access, Quality, and Safety
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Spreading Out Elective Admissions Could Save Lives, Strengthen Hospitals, and Reduce Health Spending
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