Transforming the SGH Bed Allocation Process to Reduce Admission Wait-Times
Care Process & Redesign
National Healthcare Innovation and Productivity Medals
SingHealth
31 December 2020
Reduce DEM patient admission wait time from 4:18 hours to under 2 hours while improving resource allocation. Improved bed allocation reduced admission delays, congestion, and optimized resource utilization.
Year Submitted: 2020
Published Date: 31 December 2020
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Quality Improvement, Workflow Redesign, Access To Care, Waiting Time, Bed Occupancy Rate, Productivity, Cost Saving
About this Content
Aims
Reduce DEM patient admission wait time from 4:18 hours to under 2 hours while improving resource allocation.
Background
Prolonged admission wait times create DEM congestion, leading to increased mortality, stress, and delays in care delivery.
Methods
Reviewed workflows, optimized bed allocation using updated ward categorization, and piloted “Bed Brown” for real-time allocation.
Results
Reduced wait time to bed allocation by 43%; patients with rejected requests decreased from 7% to 4%; achieved $3.1M in cost savings.
Conclusion
Improved bed allocation reduced admission delays, congestion, and optimized resource utilization.
Lessons Learnt
Change management, stakeholder buy-in, and iterative approaches are critical for addressing systemic inefficiencies.
Additional Information
Significant cost savings achieved through the Bed Brown model implementation.
Keywords
Bed Allocation, DEM Congestion, Bed Brown Pilot, Care Redesign, Cost Savings
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | SingHealth |
Organization(s) Involved | Singapore General Hospital |
Platform(s) | National Healthcare Innovation and Productivity Medals |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Healthcare Administration |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Healthcare Administrators |
Project Lead(s) | Shen Yuzeng |
Project Member(s) | Lee Lin Hui |
Connect with this contributor!
Shen Yuzeng - shen.yuzeng@singhealth.com.sg
Project Attachment
436_SGH_NHIP_2020_Transforming_the_SGH_Bed_Allocation_Process_combined.pdf