About
Starting Semester: Spring 2027Assigned: No
Location: Atlanta
Emory Healthcare
Client Profile
The Emory Healthcare Network, established in 2011, is the largest academically based, clinically integrated network in Georgia, with more than 3,800 physicians concentrating in 70 different subspecialties at over 580 provider locations. Our core purpose is to improve lives and provide hope by delivering exceptional care to our patients, their families and the communities we serve.Project Description
Background:On the day of surgery, patients move through arrival, registration, waiting, pre-operative preparation, and readiness for transport to the OR. Multiple departments and handoffs are involved, and limited visibility into patient status can make it difficult for the OR team to anticipate when patients will be ready.
Opportunity:
Analyze patient flow from arrival through OR readiness to identify waiting, bottlenecks, process variation, handoff delays, information gaps, and factors associated with late patient readiness. The analysis should look beyond registration alone and examine the complete system that produces a surgery-ready patient.
Client Need:
Desired Outcome:
Develop and evaluate future-state workflow alternatives that improve the reliability, visibility, and predictability of patient readiness. Recommendations should quantify potential reductions in waiting, process variation, and readiness-related case delays and identify practical opportunities to improve communication and coordination across Registration, Pre-Op, and the OR.
Scope and Deliverables:
Scope:
Focus on the patient journey from arrival through registration and pre-operative preparation until the patient is designated ready for OR transport. Analysis may include Epic timestamps, staffing, patient arrival patterns, waiting times, handoffs, status indicators, delay reasons, and direct observation. Clinical decision-making and redesign of clinical care protocols should remain outside the project scope.
Primary Deliverable:
A quantified current-state patient-flow model and a set of tested future-state alternatives that improve patient readiness and reduce avoidable delays.