A Time-and-Motion Study to increase the efficiency among service levels of various scaled hospitals in Thailand: A Case Study

Abstract

Abstract

This study was the experience of direct and continuous observation of a physical check-up task among three hospitals in Thailand, using a time-keeping device (a digital stopwatch or a cellular-phone timer) to record the time taken to accomplish the tasks from a patient's perspective. The main objective was to identify problems in the operational work process, explore the steps of the medical transactions, and solve them by proposing a more efficient work process for each hospital. The improvement was executed by combining some specific and typical steps to eliminate the bottlenecks and re-arranging the physical layout of each hospital to reduce the time utilized and distance traveled by the patients. At each hospital, The research team will provide appropriate recommendations to remove the obstacles made at the end of the three months of the study. Earlier, the hospital marketing staff confirmed that with time freed from our research, they could develop a robust campaign to attract additional check-up patients to fill the expanded capacity, resulting in additional revenues. With the ensuing nine-month implementation of our action plans, the ended results at all the three hospitals enhanced the performance of the check-up/wellness programs and significant benefits of time-and-motion savings, leading to eventual patient satisfaction and revenue generation.

Keywords: Time motion study, efficient work process, patient satisfaction, Operations management