Improving the Efficiency of Physical Examination Services

The objective of our project was to improve the efficiency of the physical examination screening service of a large hospital system. We began with a detailed simulation model to explore the relationships between four performance measures and three decision factors. We then attempted to identify the optimal physician inquiry starting time by solving a goal-programming problem, where the objective function includes multiple goals. One of our simulation results shows that the proposed optimal physician inquiry starting time decreased patient wait times by 50% without increasing overall physician utilization

Gaps in injury statistics: multiple injury profiles reveal them and provide a comprehensive account

Methods: Retrospective analysis of national trauma registry data in Israel between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002. Multiple diagnoses per patient were recorded. A primary diagnosis was selected for each patient and data were presented twice: first by selecting a primary diagnosis and then using multiple injury profiles. Results: 23 909 transport casualties were included. Findings show that MIP enable the identification of all patients with a specific injury, even where secondary. The proportion of additional injuries recorded when using MIP ranged from 12% in head injuries to 270% for facial injuries. Based on the primary diagnosis patients with head, chest, and abdominal injuries had a 5–6% inpatient death rate each. Multiple injury profiles of the same population reveal that an isolated head injury has a 3% inpatient death rate, isolated chest and isolated abdomen have a 1% inpatient death rate, while combined head and chest casualties have a 21% inpatient death rate. Conclusions: Multiple injury profiles are a new approach that enables presenting an improved picture of injury in a population

Time studies in A&E departments ‐ a useful tool for management

A time and motion study was conducted in an accident and emergency (A&amp;E) department in a Hong Kong Government hospital in order to suggest solutions for severe queuing problems found in A&amp;E. The study provided useful information about the patterns of arrival and service; the throughput; and the factors that influence the length of the queue at the A&amp;E department. Plans for building a computerized simulation model were dropped as new intelligence generated by the study enabled problem solving using simple statistical analysis and common sense. Demonstrates some potential benefits for management in applying operations research methods in busy clinical working environments. The implementation of the recommendations made by this study successfully eliminated queues in A&amp;E.</jats:p