Harvard prof says Ontario hospitals can reduce overcrowding without spending huge amounts of money

Eugene Litvak, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and president of the Institute for Healthcare Optimization, has worked with The Ottawa Hospital and hospitals throughout the U.S. to reduce overcrowding, improve patient flow and decrease mortality and infection rates. He believes Ontario hospitals can reduce overcrowding without massive investments. Litvak suggests changing to the way surgeries are scheduled, separating medical patients from alternate level of care patients, discharging earlier in the day and turning around vacated hospital beds more quickly are changes that can free up space, save money and improve care. In addition to spreading elective surgeries through the week, Litvak says hospitals don’t have strict criteria to determine which patients are in highly monitored beds (step-down beds). A New Jersey hospital said it saved $10 million a year and reduced waiting times by changing its rules around step-down beds.