The Affordable Care Act and CMS’s Emergency Preparedness rule are two major reform pieces that impact many hospitals and health care organizations in terms of strategic, financial, and daily operations. Hear how the shifting landscape of health care and environmental factors have changed patient flow and what reform means for emergency management professionals.

• Discuss the environmental factors that have led to higher Emergency Department volumes in some hospitals, and innovative solutions to this crowding
• Evaluate current market conditions and the impact of consolidation and transparency
• Examine Care Coalition initiatives — Forecast possible financial, strategic, and operational implications
• Hear how federal grant dollars are shifting away from safety preparedness programs and learn to restructure programs to keep flow and preparedness sustainable

Though patient flow and emergency preparedness measures are two very separate operational functions of a health care organization, there are many parallels that link the two. In this session, hear how emergency preparedness can have clinical care implications — and how daily patient flow routines impact operations in an emergency situation.

• Learn how streamlining patient flow workflows is essential to business resiliency in an emergency
• Understand how clinical care can be jeopardized in an emergency, and how to prepare properly to avoid errors or fatalities caused by overcrowding and
  emergency department diversions
• Prepare for emergencies in the ED — Adopt flexible staffing and logistical solutions that ensure patient safety and business resiliency for crisis specific
  issues such as road blocks, severe weather, and lock-down status events
• Streamline the front, middle, and back end of patient flow to reduce backups when volume is magnified
• Discuss the operational implications for hospital inpatient units and transfer stations during a mass discharge of lower acuity patients in times
  of emergency
• Outline the importance of clinical staff buy-in and involvement in emergency preparation plans and drills

In this in-depth case study, hear first-hand from emergency preparedness and hospital staff about their preparations and response plans in case of a pandemic breakout.

• Discuss the extraordinary logistical needs for hospital emergency departments, morgues, and inpatient service lines should a pandemic break out
• Identify how to control and set up a quarantine zone
• Outline safety procedures to protect and prepare clinical and administrative staff and ensure all necessary apparatus is onsite
• Take into account cultural customs and needs of patients in terms of treatment and post-mortem care
• Prepare an emergency plan that involves staff, community coalition hospitals, and local municipalities to deal with patient flow, transfers, safety protocols, identification, and community support

Discuss how technology has transformed Emergency Department patient flow, patient safety, and hospital emergency preparedness in this interactive panel with health care technology experts.

• Learn what tools and applications are available to optimize patient scheduling, flow, staffing, training, and appointment times
• Utilize your EHR system to track patients and their clinical history during hand offs to reduce waste and ensure patient safety during hand offs, shift changes, and in times of crisis
• Recognize the impact these systems have had on clinical teams — Both positive and negative
• Discuss how to integrate these programs and train staff to minimize the learning curve

In this innovative case study, learn about the success one medical center is having with technology implementation, its patient connections program, and the positive impact both have had in reducing overcrowding in the ED.

• Describe the process bottlenecks inherent in the patient flow process
• Understand how focused technologies can enhance patient flow process changes
• Hear an in-depth account of an innovative patient-centered program that connects patients to preventative care services, and learn how the organization reduced returns to the ED of those successfully placed with a PCP by more than 60%
• Evaluate the impact the program has had on patient satisfaction, readmission rates, and how that has positively influenced cost reduction, HCAHPS scores, and reimbursements