Strengthening Hospital Capacity for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implementation of Electronic Patient Discharge
Background: Increasing hospital capacity to cover the service demands is an important priority during an epidemic or a pandemic. The aim of this study was to increase hospital capacity using the Six Sigma method to improve the patient discharge process. Methods: This was a quantitative study. The P...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Language: | EN |
| Published: |
Gonabad University of Medical Sciences
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doaj.org/article/7d6cf6d4d5b14cba8d4240ad0e01e386 |
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| Summary: | Background: Increasing hospital capacity to cover the service demands is an important priority during an epidemic or a pandemic. The aim of this study was to increase hospital capacity using the Six Sigma method to improve the patient discharge process.
Methods: This was a quantitative study. The Pre- and post-intervention study was conducted in a big hospital designated for COVID-19 patients. The patient discharge process was evaluated and improved based on seven sub-processes and following the Six Sigma model, including defining the problem, measuring time in each of the discharge stations, analysis times and process, improvement process, and control.
Results: Implementation of the electronic patient discharge led to a 51.9% decrease in discharge time from 7.3 h during the pre-intervention period to 3.8 h post-intervention (P< 0.0001). According to the Sigma level, the yield and defects per million opportunities of the discharge process also improved to 55%.
Conclusion: Increasing hospital capacity by improving the discharge time is a quick action to cover the demand created during pandemics. Also, about 32 beds can be obtained by applying the Six Sigma model to improve the discharge process in a short time and at a very low cost. |
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