Patient flow analysis in resource-limited settings: a practical tutorial and case study

Cinnamon A Dixon; Damien Punguyire; Melinda Mahabee-Gittens; Mona Ho; Christopher J Lindsell

doi:10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00121

Patient flow analysis in resource-limited settings: a practical tutorial and case study

Glob Health Sci Pract. 2015 Mar 5;3(1):126-34. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00121. Print 2015 Mar.

Authors

Cinnamon A Dixon¹, Damien Punguyire², Melinda Mahabee-Gittens³, Mona Ho³, Christopher J Lindsell⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Center for Global Health, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati, OH, USA cinnamon.dixon@cchmc.org.
² Kintampo Municipal Hospital, Kintampo, Ghana.
³ University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁴ University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Abstract

Patient flow analysis (PFA), a simple quality improvement tool to identify patient flow patterns, can be used in resource-limited settings to inform service delivery improvements. A PFA at a Ghanaian hospital found that personnel constraints and a mismatch between staffing and patient arrival surges led to long wait and total attendance times. The median time from arrival to first-provider contact was 4.6 hours.

MeSH terms

Developing Countries*
Efficiency
Ghana
Health Resources*
Health Services / standards*
Hospitals / standards*
Humans
Patients
Quality of Health Care*
Time Factors

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding