ABSTRACT
The changing healthcare environment has driven hospitals to critically evaluate and optimize their operations to enhance patient treatment and care while focusing on financial constraints. The hospitals have moved to support an increasing outpatient care environment, driving increasing in-patient acuity levels. At many institutions, these changes have been accompanied with regulatory and financial constraints impacting the operating budgets. Specific initiatives, such as the Joint Commission's patient safety goals, electronic medical record, and meaning full use, have driven institutions to re-design their operations and processes, using technology solutions to achieve these goals, while optimizing operational workflow and resource utilization.
