This month’s literature search explores the complexity of patient flow through a hospital system, including the role of technology and the importance of interprofessional communication.
Grey literature
Canberra Health Services (2024, March). Patient flow. CHS Health Hub. ACT Government.
Canberra Health Services (2023, March). Patient Flow Plan CHS Health Hub. ACT Government.
Full-text articles
Åhlin, P., Hermansson, S., & Almström, P. (2025). Focused operations to improve the patient flow in full-service healthcare organisations. Production Planning & Control, 1–20.
Almarwani, M. S., Salha Ahmed Mohammed Osis, Ghosoon Ahmad Mohd Osis, et al. (2024). The Role of Integrated Health Informatics in Streamlining Patient Flow from Emergency Department to Admission: A Review of Administrative and Clinical Synergies. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 1(2), 1927–1934.
Álvarez-Chaves, H., & R-Moreno, M. D. (2025). Interpretable statistical modeling of patient flow in emergency departments. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 171, 104937.
Bechir, G., & Anja, M. (2025). Impact of Discharge Rounds on Patient Flow and Hospital Outcomes. Cureus.
Benjamin, E., & Giuliano, K. K. (2024). Work Systems Analysis of Emergency Nurse Patient Flow Management Using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety Model: Applying Findings From a Grounded Theory Study. JMIR Human Factors, 11, e60176–e60176.
Benjamin, E., & Wolf, L. A. (2022). “Nurses are every bit of the flow:” Emergency department nurses’ conceptualization of patient flow management. Nursing Forum, 57(6), 1407–1414.
Da’Costa, A., Teke, J., Origbo, J. E., Osonuga, A., Egbon, E., & Olawade, D. B. (2025). AI-driven triage in emergency departments: A review of benefits, challenges, and future directions. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 197, 105838.
Grosman-Rimon, L., Li, D. H. Y., Collins, B. E., & Wegier, P. (2023). Can we improve healthcare with centralized management systems, supported by information technology, predictive analytics, and real-time data?: A review. Medicine, 102(45), e35769.
Hybinette, K., Praetorius, G., Ekstedt, M., & Pukk Härenstam, K. (2023). Exploring patient flow management through a lens of cognitive systems engineering. Ergonomics, 66(12), 2106–2120.
Manning, L., & Islam, Md. S. (2023). A systematic review to identify the challenges to achieving effective patient flow in public hospitals. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 38(3), 805–828.
Mebrahtu, T. F., McInerney, C. D., Benn, J., McCrorie, C., Granger, J., Lawton, T., Sheikh, N., Habli, I., Randell, R., & Johnson, O. (2023). The impact of hospital command centre on patient flow and data quality: findings from the UK National Health Service. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 35(4).
Nguyen, Q., Wybrow, M., Burstein, F., Taylor, D., & Enticott, J. (2022). Understanding the impacts of health information systems on patient flow management: A systematic review across several decades of research. PLOS ONE, 17(9), e0274493.
Paterson, E., Chari, S., McCormack, L., & Sanderson, P. (2024). Application of a Human Factors Systems Approach to Healthcare Control Centres for Managing Patient Flow: A Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Systems, 48(1), 62.
Samadbeik, M., Staib, A., Boyle, J., Khanna, S., Bosley, E., Bodnar, D., Lind, J., Austin, J. A., Tanner, S., Meshkat, Y., de Courten, B., & Sullivan, C. (2024). Patient flow in emergency departments: a comprehensive umbrella review of solutions and challenges across the health system. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 274.
Samadbeik, M., Staib, A., Boyle, J., Khanna, S., Bosley, E., McCourt, E., Bodnar, D., Lind, J., Austin, J. A., & Sullivan, C. (2025). “A banana in the tailpipe”: a qualitative study of patient flow in the healthcare system. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1),
Shaw, L., Freeman, S., Aranha, S., Boulton, A., Capurro, D., Chapman, W., Fazio, T., Gazarek, J., Layton, M., Lyons, K., Plumb, S., & Astbury, B. (2025). Implementation of a digital coordination centre in a hospital: a qualitative evaluation of enablers, barriers and strategies. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 1185.
van Dam, P., Dwyer, M., O’Reilly, M., Prior, S., Montgomery, J., & Turner, R. (2024). Understanding Patient Flow from the Perspectives of Patient Movement Experts. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 19(2).
Wei, J., Zhou, J., Zhang, Z., Yuan, K., Gu, Q., Luk, A., Brent, A. J., Clifton, D. A., Walker, A. S., & Eyre, D. W. (2024). Predicting individual patient and hospital-level discharge using machine learning. Communications Medicine, 4(1), 236.
Williams, E. L., Huynh, D., Estai, M., Sinha, T., Summerscales, M., & Kanagasingam, Y. (2025). Predicting Inpatient Admissions From Emergency Department Triage Using Machine Learning: A Systematic Review. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, 3(1),
Zamani, H., Parvaresh, F., & Isfahani, M. N. (2025). Optimizing patient flow logistics: strategic challenges, tactical solutions, and future directions. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 1382.