INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS:APPLICATIONS OF METHODS IMPROVEMENT AND WORK SIMPLIFICATION

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APPLICATIONS OF METHODS IMPROVEMENT AND WORK SIMPLIFICATION
Introduction

The terms methods improvement, methods engineering, operations analysis, and work simplification have been used synonymously in industrial engineering literature. These techniques use a systematic procedure to study and improve methods for carrying out any set of activities to accomplish a task. In health care systems, these could be the work methods used in the actual delivery of health care to the patients or the work methods utilized in support activities. One common tool used to document an existing process or work method is a flowchart, which can also be used to document a new process as it is developed prior to implementation. A flowchart allows a critical examination of the various steps of the process and assists in the identification of unnecessary steps and inefficiencies in the process. Flowcharts show each step of the process as well as decision points and various courses of action based upon the decision.

Other tools available for methods improvement that have been used in health care systems include a flow diagram and a paperwork simplification chart. A flow diagram can be used to visualize the flow of material and patients in a facility. It can help identify areas of congestion and assist in the planning of the physical layout of facilities. Paperwork-simplification charts are used to analyze and improve paper documents to provide the needed control and communication.

Application of a Flowchart to Document Patient Flow in an Outpatient Clinic Figure 1 shows the flowchart for patient flow in an outpatient clinic starting from the time when a patient arrives at the reception counter to the time the patient leaves the clinic after the visit. This chart shows all the steps a patient goes through to complete a visit with the physician. Management engineers can critically examine each step to study the possibility of eliminating, simplifying, or modifying it. For example, this flowchart indicates that patients have to stand in line till a receptionist is available to serve them. If this wait is excessive, one alternative could be to have a sign-up sheet so the patients could sign it and then take a seat. When available, the receptionists could then call the patients to the counter to serve them.

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