Buffer management to solve bed-blocking in the Netherlands, 2000-2010. Cooperation from an integrated care chain perspective as a key success factor for managing patient flows.

Introduction : Bed-blocking problems in hospitals reflect how difficult and complex it is to move patients smoothly through the chain of care. In the Netherlands, during the first decade of the 21 st century, some hospitals attempted to tackle this problem by using an Intermediate Care Department (ICD) as a buffer for bed-blockers. However, research has shown that ICDs do not sufficiently solve the bed-blocking problem and that bed-blocking is often caused by a lack of buffer management. Tool: Buffer management (BM) is a tool that endeavors to balance patient flow in the hospital to nursing ho... Mehr ...