Improving Discharge Timeliness on a Pediatric Inpatient Cardiology Unit Through the Implementation of Medical Discharge Criteria Decreases Length of Stay and Reduces Hospital Charges

Background: Prior improvement work integrating standardized medical discharge criteria in general pediatric inpatients led to improved discharge timeliness and reduced length of stay (LOS). Our aim was to develop standardized medical discharge criteria on a quaternary pediatric cardiology unit in an effort to improve the timeliness of discharge. We hypothesized that timely discharge would lead to cost savings and a reduced LOS. Methods and Results: Over 18 months (Jan. 2014 - June 2015), a multi-disciplinary team worked toward the quality improvement aim of increasing the percentage of pediatric cardiology inpatients discharged within 2 hours of achieving medical discharge criteria. We established preset ‘medically ready’ discharge criteria in our hospital EMR, initiated upon admission for all inpatients and modified daily as needed. We organized criteria into 7 categories (congenital heart disease (CHD) medical, CHD post-operative, heart failure/transplant medical, transplant post-operative, electrophysi...