Improvements in ED's

From SanDiego.com

"Feeling better fast"

"In markets that are very competitive, hospitals are going to be looking to the emergency department to stay competitive," said Peter Cunningham, a senior health researcher for the Center for Studying Health System Change, a research group in Washington.

The emergency room is a front door of sorts to the hospitals, which makes it a key part of the hospital business model. If they improve efficiency without sacrificing safety or raising overhead, profitability increases. This is particularly important in the ER because about 50 percent of hospital admissions are from the emergency room, according to Kirk Jensen, a patient flow expert who works with the BestPractices Institute in Fairfax, Va., and Institute for Healthcare Improvement.