The following is a summary of “Operational efficiency and out-of-pocket expenditure in attendees of anti-rabies vaccination: A time and motion study,” published in the November 2022 issue of Primary care by Patnaik, et al.
Many healthcare facilities worldwide have begun utilizing time and motion studies to enhance workflow and efficiency. These studies were primarily used to determine the precise amount of time spent at various service delivery points and to gauge beneficiaries’ perceptions of the overall amount of time spent in the outpatient department (OPD). For a study, researchers sought to evaluate operational effectiveness and patient satisfaction with the anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) OPD.
In a referral teaching hospital, cross-sectional research was conducted between July 1 and August 31, 2021. Patients with animal bites who were hospitalized made up the study population. A 5-point Likert scale and a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire were used to gather the data.
The majority of patients, or 811 (56.3%), were female and between the ages of 15 and 30, or 439 (30.5%). On Mondays, patients spent the most time in the OPD. The mean time new cases spent at Niramaya was 14.80 ±6.09 minutes, but follow-up cases only spent 0.23±1.89 minutes there on average. About 56.3% and 55.9% of the respondents, or more than half of the sample, thought that the consultation and registration processes took an appropriate amount of time.
For patients to receive top-notch care, registration counters must be decentralized.
Reference: journals.lww.com/jfmpc/Fulltext/2022/11000/Operational_efficiency_and_out_of_pocket.28.aspx