Let’s talk about your EHR needs: 1.800.383.6278 MEDHOST Community Login
The holidays bring celebration, family gatherings—and, for many hospitals, a noticeable uptick in emergency department (ED) visits. From cooking mishaps and decorating falls to travel-related accidents, this time of year routinely challenges ED teams with higher patient volumes and longer wait times. During these peak times, the emergency department plays a critical role within the healthcare system, ensuring timely care and supporting overall hospital operations. The diverse patient population presenting to the ED, with varying demographics and case severities, means that understanding these characteristics is a crucial factor in effectively managing holiday surges.
To help your staff manage this seasonal surge, we’ve outlined several strategies to enhance workflow efficiency and maintain quality care, so your team can focus more on patients—and less on the chaos. Improving ED efficiency during the holidays not only benefits individual departments but also strengthens the performance of the broader healthcare system by supporting coordinated, system-wide care delivery.
The combination of heavier caseloads and personal holiday responsibilities can quickly amplify stress for emergency department leaders. If left unaddressed, bottlenecks during this busy period can negatively affect CMS performance metrics, impacting more than just short-term operations. Effective resource planning is essential for anticipating and managing increased caseloads, ensuring that staff, equipment, and facilities are allocated efficiently to meet demand.
That’s why Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) and ED directors should prepare now for the anticipated increase in patient traffic. Below are three key areas that can make the biggest difference in maintaining flow, optimizing patient flow, and streamlining the admission process to improve outcomes.
Effective patient flow starts with real-time visibility. Understanding the current status of patients, staff, and resources allows leaders to make informed decisions quickly.
During busy shifts, staff often rely on manual updates or in-person check-ins, which can slow operations. Implementing EHR-integrated analytics provides continuous, data-driven insights into patient movement, bed availability, and staffing needs. A hospital information system supports data collection by capturing structured event logs and patient data, enabling the use of statistical methods to identify trends and bottlenecks in emergency department processes. These predictive tools help teams anticipate peak times and reallocate resources before congestion occurs.
Clear, timely communication can make or break an emergency department during the holidays. Paper charts, handwritten notes, and verbal updates are easily misplaced or misunderstood. Sharing relevant information and patient information through secure digital platforms helps ensure that critical data is transferred accurately and efficiently.
Hospitals can improve coordination by standardizing communication protocols and reducing reliance on manual documentation. Streamlined digital communication, supported by effective communication, ensures critical updates reach the right people faster—improving care coordination and patient outcomes while supporting both safety and speed of care.
Automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a safeguard against avoidable errors. A modern Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) with predictive capabilities can help automate workflows, reduce administrative burden, and improve patient throughput. Advanced technology, including computer simulation studies and simulation models, can be used to analyze emergency department workflows, identify bottlenecks, and pinpoint areas for improvement. Additionally, employing a simulation based metamodeling approach can further optimize emergency department efficiency by modeling complex processes and evaluating the impact of proposed interventions.
During the holiday rush, emergency departments often face a surge in patient volume, making it challenging to balance the needs of patients, staff, and available resources. These competing interests can put significant pressure on healthcare professionals, who must deliver high-quality patient care while navigating limited time and space.
To maintain patient satisfaction and ensure the best possible outcomes, it’s essential for teams to communicate effectively and prioritize tasks based on urgency and patient needs. Regular team huddles, clear delegation of responsibilities, and the use of digital tools can help healthcare professionals stay aligned and focused, even when demands are high.
By proactively addressing competing interests and fostering open communication, emergency departments can reduce bottlenecks, improve patient flow, and continue to provide exceptional care—even during the busiest times of the year.
Built in collaboration with frontline clinicians, MEDHOST EDIS simplifies communication, automates repetitive tasks, and provides the visibility needed to manage patient surges effectively. By minimizing manual steps, it enhances efficiency, patient satisfaction, and overall safety. This leads to improved quality of care, supports the delivery of high quality care, and optimizes service delivery in the emergency department.
Prepare your ED to thrive during the holidays and beyond. The system also supports better patient outcomes and improves ED efficiency through streamlined workflows and enhanced operational performance.
Contact us at 1.800.383.6278 or inquiries@medhost.com to learn more about how MEDHOST can help your team deliver exceptional care—no matter the season.
