Title: -Patient flow management

Background: - It makes patient irritating and sarcastic because if hospital premises are not
having any waiting area for patient. Patient inflow is major problem in hospital, clinics,
nursing homes, primary healthcare(PHC). patient flow shows how hospitals are efficient and
fast in providing healthcare services. After studying about the patient flow it may help to
determine the various problems and how these problems and how these problems are
affecting the effectiveness of hospital or it’s departments. It will help to use to conduct what-
if analysis, plan future reorganizations, optimize schedule and allocate optimum resources to
the hospital. It makes patient irritating and sarcastic because if hospital premises are not
having any waiting area for patient. It may also help in determine how the patient flow
change because of any uncertain events like demonetization.

Traffic in the hospital at different places can be manage by various hospital but it depends
how hospital executives or managers are taking it seriously or not.

Patient inflow can be anywhere in the hospital or other healthcare premises such as outside of
OPD, Pharmacy, Waiting room.

There are two main factors of patient flow in a hospital that helps to determine the load of
departments, patient arrival rate and the in-hospital flow. Patient’s inflow defines the in-
hospital flow in each & every department and inflow of patient from one to another
department.

Patient flow in OPD: -

Referred
Examination/ to IPD
Diagnosis
One stop Registration
Waiting Area/ > Lab test
> Counter check in
Doctor consultancy >X-Ray
> Payments
> ECG Medicine
Etc. collection
from
Pharmacy
 ICU or Recovery Discharge to
Refer to IPD IPD Ward
Surgery dept. Room home

 Whenever patient comes to hospital he/she must has to go to the registration desk then
further processes start.
 It depends whether patient wants directly go to the IPD or OPD then here
differentiation starts where patient has to go first.
 If patient is going to OPD then patient has to go to through various ways and depends
where OPD is located and how far it is.
 Before going to OPD chamber there should be responsible person who can inform
that particular patient that how long he/she has to wait, so that patient flow inside the
hospital will be manage.
 After examination of the patient, has to go for diagnosis if it prescribed then here also
a concern of patient inflow from one department to other department.
 If patient goes to IPD then there will be chance of transferring from one to another
department such as surgery, recovery and therapy etc.
 After the surgery of the patient, he/she must be transferred to recovery room that is
100% certain that patient must be in the recovery room after surgery and as per
recommendation of domain expert.
 There are chances of happening that patient can go to surgery room, diff. recovery
room or discharge to home whether cured or dead.
 Recovery and surgery unit is having a two-way communication because patient
moves in circular ways in these two departments.

PROBLEMS: -

 Confusion
 Severity
 Time constrain
  Disability
 Pharmacy
 Destination signage
 Traffic at particular place
 Patient’s Crowd at Outside of OPD
 Patient gathering in waiting room
 Appointment without prior information
 Patient gets irritated because of long waiting

Solutions: -

confusion is big factor for the patient because hospital is new premises for everyone
when he/she is going first time, so if there is nothing like navigator which can locate
the right place to patient.
Severity is major concern because when patient comes with high level of severity then
patient needs urgent services so there will be spacious passage and locator so that
patient can reach to consultant room safely and as soon as possible.
Time is the major constrain here why it is so concerned for every hospital or manager
because it shows the effectiveness of the hospital, how they are managing time of
patient, are they providing the best services to every patirnt or instead of that are they
providing anything to them in this free time, the best possible solutions are
 Availability of Entraining things
1. Magazine
2. T.V.
3. News paper
4. Mall
 Inform prior to patient about waiting time.
 Try to drop a message to every patient before 2hr of their consult timing.
if the patient is disable then provide them a wheel chair with a assistant and provide
them a separate passage and give them a priority to consult with doctor.
Outside of pharmacy there is always a plethora of patient and they are always in hurry
because this is the last step for getting out from the hospital and so if pharmacy is not
available near IPD ward then in this kind of hospital there should be two-way
pharmacy. If there is IPD pharmacy is separated, then OPD pharmacy is getting
crowed because of high flow in the OPD then hospital should provide a waiting area
for patient as well as token no. system must be there.
Destination signage available in lobby or parking. lot signs help patient to where has
to go. clearly distinguishing check-in and check-out, or help patients which type of
service they needed. It will be less stressful for them and it will save time of patient as
well.
Traffic at particular place looks awkward to patient, to avoid the traffic at single
place, so designed a place in such a manner that cross path can’t be there and if they
want to move from one place to another place so that sequentially they can go without
disturbance and trafficking.
Patient crowd at outside of OPD is shows that management of the hospital is weak
and patient start thinking that there is lack of synchronization, so avoid this behavior
hospital should arrange the waiting area with large space and comfortable sitting, It
may be help them.
To avoid the patient gathering in the waiting room, Hospital should give them a
approx. time of consultation by calling or via messaging.