Cost & quality quarterly journal : CQ
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Managed care organizations (MCOs) have recently focused on the high cost per patient visit in the Emergency Department (ED). MCOs emphasize preventing low acuity patients access to the ED, believing that billions of healthcare dollars will be saved. However, a review of emergency department studies suggests a different outcome. ⋯ EDs are fixed costs to hospitals. Extracting low acuity patients from the ED will raise costs for emergency patients and leave the facility underutilized. By appropriately raising prices for emergencies and decreasing low acuity patient charges to reflect marginal expense, the ED becomes a cost friendly environment for the low acuity patient.
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The Grace Hospital Surgical Services redesign project began in December 1995 and concluded in November 1996. It was led by the Chief of Surgery, the Surgical/Anesthesia Services Director, and the Associate Director of Critical Care/Trauma. The project was undertaken in order to radically redesign the delivery of surgical services in the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Northwest Region. ⋯ This added 100 cases in 1996, and is projected to add 500 cases in 1997. A 14.5 percent reduction in the cost of operating the Surgical Services was achieved. This was accompanied by enhanced staff morale, physician satisfaction and a higher quality of patient care.