Increasing Discharges Prior to 11:00 am in Patients with Burn Injuries.

This article focuses on a quality improvement project aimed at increasing the proportion of patient discharges before 11:00 am in a high-volume Burn Center to alleviate inpatient bed capacity constraints. Using the Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) framework, the multidisciplinary team implemented interventions including prioritizing discharge candidates, earlier discharge order entry, and reducing time from order to patient departure. Over a 10-month intervention period, early discharges increased from 10.0% to 27.1%, with median discharge times improving by 72 minutes, though the initial goal of 30% was not met. The study highlights unique challenges in burn patient discharge, such as wound care education and logistical barriers, and suggests that coordinated multidisciplinary efforts can improve discharge efficiency, though further research is needed to assess broader impacts on hospital capacity.