The discharge lounge is one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in the entire hospital.

The discharge lounge is one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in the entire hospital. Patients who are medically cleared are still sitting in inpatient beds — waiting on transport, prescriptions, or someone to simply escort them out. Meanwhile the next admission is stuck in the ED. A well-run discharge lounge with clear ownership and a consistent process can free up beds that disappear every single day. This is where capacity hides.