Controlling and managing the flow of patients in a busy hospital is one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare administrations today. While more patients are a good thing for your bottom line, inefficient patient throughput leads to fewer patients getting the care they need and an inefficient use of resources and assets for your organization—which can lead to a net loss in revenue. Today’s hospital environment is characterized by a clash between increasing patient demand and limited physical resources. Improving and optimizing inpatient throughput is essential to maintaining a smoothly operated healthcare center. But there are no shortcuts when it comes to patient safety and ensuring IP efficacy.
To achieve effective throughput, hospitals must rely on the power of the right UVC system and their EVS team to execute innovative strategies that deliver efficient throughput while still preserving high-quality services and ensuring IP efficacy.
While manual cleaning is the predominant method of cleaning, research published in the American Journal of Infection Control shows that as many as 50% of surfaces remain contaminated with pathogens, including MRSA, despite regular manual cleaning efforts. UVC disinfection is one type of no-touch technology shown to be a successful addition to manual cleaning. The right UVC system can measure, record and report the UVC lethal dosage delivered to each part of any patient room and speed throughput and patient flow by preventing harmful infections from spreading that can keep patients in rooms longer than originally prescribed.
UVC light kills dangerous microorganisms when exposed to UV light for a specific length of time and intensity which equals a specific dose. The right UVC system also measures actual UVC dosage delivered to the targeted areas using multiple sensors throughout the room vs. just using time-based UVC exposure.
A recent AJIC study shows that Rochester General Hospital saw a 56% reduction of their crude C difficile infection (CDI) rates compared to New York State risk-adjusted rates between 2011-2015. RGH also saw a 46% reduction between 2012 and 2015 when all available portable equipment was put in rooms for UVC disinfection, and unit common areas were terminally cleaned.
Deploying UVC systems in all patient rooms can speed up throughput by preventing harmful infections from spreading that can keep patients in rooms longer than originally prescribed. The level of clean that UVC systems provide ensures your team can facilitate the movement of patients in and out of rooms according to the patient schedule without the risk of delay to patient discharge. Further, with UVC systems performing a share of cleaning duties, your team can focus on tactical and logistical steps that speed up the patient entry and discharge procedures.
The RD UVC system can improve the time spent cleaning patient rooms with its proprietary “Pause and Reposition” feature that allows for the unit to be repositioned to address the more difficult-to-reach parts of the room in a time-effective manner. “Pause and Reposition” allows hospital staff and patients to access rooms quicker, thus increasing patient turnaround time and throughput. And because the RD UVC system automatically captures and reports disinfection data, your team has the proof of compliance data it needs for efficacy reporting across all departments.
Utilizing UVC disinfection that provides the most direct pathogen-eliminating light as possible is a great strategy for high-touch surfaces. Look for a system that, with multiple sensors, your team can place throughout the room to ensure the most effective dosage is delivered.
A study conducted at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and published by Cambridge University Press highlights the cost savings that healthcare organizations achieved by using the right UVC system. In three of the hospital’s hematology/oncology units that applied UVC light as a disinfectant tool, patients in these rooms had a 25% reduction in incidence of CDI, and researchers estimate that UVC could save the hospitals between $350,000 and $1.5 million annually in healthcare costs.
The cost savings result from a reduction of a myriad of factors: staffing time, disposable equipment costs, emergency room divert time, operating room case cancellations, and CMS penalties, among others. Organizations can also generate revenue through increased patient throughput, increased surgical cases, and increased emergency room visits and admissions.
Ready to see how RD UVC can speed throughput and ensure patient safety at your hospital?
Contact us to get a quote today.