Case Study: MercyOne reduces observation length of stay with Hospital IQ

Reduce Length of Stay Through Proactive Management of Observation Patients

MercyOne worked with **Hospital IQ** to address a persistent challenge with observation patients: limited visibility into their status and location, inconsistent review of observation status, and average length of stay that routinely exceeded the 24-hour target. With 10–15% of patients in observation status and no dedicated unit or care team, MercyOne Des Moines was seeing stays of 35 to 42 hours and losing reimbursement due to misclassified patients.

Using **Hospital IQ’s Inpatient solution**, MercyOne gained predictive and real-time visibility into observation demand and KPIs, helping them improve governance, adjust processes, and create a short-stay unit staffed to evaluate observation criteria. The results included a **33% reduction in average observation length of stay**, **100 bed days gained per month**, and a reduction of more than 30% in hours per patient.

MercyOne

Diane Murphy

Market Director Performance Excellence, Logistics, and Virtual Care