How improving access times had unforeseen consequences: a case study in a Dutch hospital.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To investigate the consequences of increasing capacity to reduce access times, and to explore how patient waiting times and use of physical capacity were influenced by variability. DESIGN:A retrospective case study that combines both primary and secondary data. Secondary data were retrieved from a hospital database to establish inflow and outflow of patients, utilisation of resources and available capacity, realised access times and the weekly number of new patients seen over 1 year. Primary data consisted of field notes, onsite visits and observations, and semistructured interviews. SETTING:A secondary care facility, that is, a rheumatology department, in a large Dutch hospital. PARTICIPANTS:Analyses are based on secondary patient data from the hospital database, and the respon

SUBMITTER: Roemeling O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6731794 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature