Overview

Background

Urgent Matters, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is dedicated to finding, developing and delivering strategies to improve patient flow and reduce emergency department (ED) crowding. Urgent Matters highlights patient flow best practices through its educational activities including:

• E-newsletters,
• Web seminars and
• Regional conferences.

Urgent Matters began as a 10-hospital collaborative Learning Network where hospitals implemented rigorous performance measures, assessed current processes and used techniques of rapid cycle change to improve ED throughput and output.

Our work indicates that overcrowding can in large part be addressed through better hospital capacity and patient flow management with a highly structured approach using mainly existing resources.

Urgent Matters is nationally recognized for: Sharing field-tested initiatives from healthcare experts nationwide Ensuring access to proven tools through our menu of educational activities Emergency department and inpatient strategies Partnering with industry leaders to create ED performance measures Building a "community of interest" dedicated to improving patient flow Helping you make a difference...today!

Learn More

For more information, sign-up for our free e-newsletter, which provides important tools while keeping you updated on the program. Also, download our reports on improving patient flow and assessing the health of the safety net. Urgent Matters is housed at Center for Health Services Research and Policy (CHSRP) at The George Washington University Medical Center's School of Public Health and Health Services. We can be reached at info@urgentmatters.org.