Time motion studies in healthcare: what are we talking about?

ABSTRACT: Time motion studies were first described in the early 20th century in industrial engineering, referring to a quantitative data collection method where an external observer captured detailed data on the duration and movements required to accomplish a specific task, coupled with an analysis focused on improving efficiency. Since then, they have been broadly adopted by biomedical researchers and have become a focus of attention due to the current interest in clinical workflow related factors. However, attempts to aggregate results from these studies have been difficult, resulting from a significant variability in the implementation and reporting of methods. While efforts have been made to standardize the reporting of such data and findings, a lack of common understanding on what "time motion

SUBMITTER: Lopetegui M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4058370 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature