Question

Farmers Hospital in rural Idaho is trying reduce stress and anxiety for its female patients. This small nonprofit hospital set the goal of decreasing the amount of time that women had to wait to receive mammogram results. The hospital is determined to decrease the waiting time and also increase the number of female patients that can receive a mammogram each day the test is provided. 1. What would be the best approach to reducing the waiting time? 2. Who should be involved in the process? 3. Will the changes increase cost? And, how might they prevent an increase in cost. 4. They do 4 tests per day now. The test takes 30 minutes and the wait time can be up to 1 hour. How many tests should they be able to do in an 8 hour work day?

Answer 1

Q1)What would be the approach to reducing the wait time .

To reduce the wait time if mammography department it is important to know the reasons for the extended wait time .so a cause and effect analysis should be done to know the causes for it in the form of fish Bone analysis will help .their can be various causes for it like

Patient reporting late for appointment which makes them spill to the later appointment.

Insurance formalities taking too long

Consent and procedure explanation takes too long .

Staff shortage

Too much of patient traffic from inpatient department.

Delayed reporting

Inefficient staffs

Technical issues

How to reduce the wait time .

1)Give appointments with a buffer time of 15 mins.

2)explain the procedure in brief at the time of appointment this will reduce the explanation on the test day

3)make available pamflets on information on the test which will help patients to read and reduce time on explaining the procedure.

4)Advise the patient to complete insurance formalities before coming for the test .

5)Train the staff on correct patient information feeding to the machine ,usage of machine and trouble shoot option.

6)A regular calibration and Maintainance of the machine to be done to avoid technical glitches.

7)Guide the patient at the reception.

8) mammography department to work for 12 hrs rather than 8 hrs with two technicians in shifts with an overlapping time of 4 hours .

9)same day report to be submitted with the help of a typist who can type the report once it is dictates ri

Q2) Who should be involved in the process

Mammography technologist

Mammography nurse

The call centre who gives appointment

Reception desk

Insurance staffs

Administration

Radiologist

Q3) The change will not necessarily increase a cost by large extent .only cost invilved will be by use of a typist who will help in writing the report. But this typist can be used from the other department.but by increasing the no of appointments per day I think this cost can be incurred.

Q4) Consider a shift of 8 am to 4pm the patients should be prepared with the help of reception and the mammogram nurse .the time taken for one procedure is 30mins as per the present situation.by following a changed protocol as per the above time the 30 mins procedure can become 20 mins and the wait time be reduced by half an hour to 45 .so a procedure should take 29 mins an report should take 15 mins thus the total time needed would be 45 mins with a buffer time of 10 mins so in one 8 hours of shift around 8-9 patients can be screened .