When Passive Resistance Is Impeding Change

Success in a healthcare project can be measured and interpreted in different ways. Not all projects are met with overwhelming enthusiasm or have in place an accountability structure that will help ensure success. At the beginning of an engagement, all participants should consider goal obtainment as the key measure of success. An organization may be tempted to keep suboptimal outcomes a secret, but sharing project experiences, including failures and challenges, can provide valuable lessons. Openly discussing the realities of project implementation can destigmatize failure, create a learning environment, and encourage innovation. This approach can help optimize in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

In this paper, we look at a large academic medical center that has been in existence for over a century and is renowned for its pioneering, cutting-edge medical innovations and ability to deliver high-quality care. Despite its reputation and resources, the provider was overwhelmed by capacity issues and increasing emergency department (ED) boarding. To address these challenges, it sought to improve patient flow, reduce length of stay (LOS), and increase bed availability to decrease ED boarding times.

Hospital leaders recognized that longer wait times due to throughput issues could impact patients’ health, create additional unreimbursed costs, and limit the ability to bring new revenue-producing patients into the organization. Longer LOSs have been associated with medical complications such as pneumonia and patients experiencing first falls.