ABSTRACT
In one recent study, a process engineer was challenged with assessing the discharge planning functions in a multihospital system. In the initial assessment phase, it was determined that not one of the hospitals had a single job description for utilization-review nurses, case managers, social workers, or discharge planners that matched. If this problem exists within an IDS (integrated delivery system, i.e., hospitals belonging to the same company), it is plausible to estimate that this variation is even more pronounced across nonaffiliated hospitals.
