The move is in response to the growing number of Emergency departments closing their doors because of financial problems, while the number of emergency room visits increasing.
"It's a service business, and there are many other industries that are farther ahead than hospitals are," said Kirk Jensen, a patient flow expert who works with the BestPractices Institute in Fairfax, Va., and Institute for Healthcare Improvement, "(Hospitals) are starting to pay attention."
While every hospital has a slight variation on the process, they are all focusing on making each person's visit a series of fluid,efficient steps - into the ER, through the ER and out of the ER.
"Previously we just told people, 'Listen, if you are really dying come in, but if not, don't,'" said Joshua McCabe, a registered nurse in the emergency department at Sharp Chula Vista.
"The whole model has changed to patient satisfaction, people like to receive health care now in our ER."
