Situations of cardiac catheterization service processes in a private hospital in Southern Thailand

Abstract

Problems in the process of providing cardiac catheterization services leader to an increased expenses for patients and pose a risk of serious health complications. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative research was to study the situation of the cardiac catheterization service process in a private hospital, southern Thailand. Thirty-one informants were purposively selected including three nursing administrators and twenty-eight cardiac catheterization professional nurses. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, observations, field notes, and group discussions that enabled methodological triangulation. The tools consisted of two parts; 1) a socio-demographic record 2) a semi-structured interview questions: the situation problems and obstacles in the cardiac catheterization service process. The tools were validated by three experts and were revised as per the experts’ suggestions. The interview question was piloted with two informants before being used with the research informant. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, quantitative data were analyzed using frequency and percentage. The results showed that there were problems in the process of cardiac catheterization service: 1) unclear communication of providing information during the appointment process 2) incomprehensive assessment and screening of risk groups before cardiac catheterization 3) incomprehensive assessment and management during cardiac catheterization and 4) delayed discharge process, and a lack of monitoring for continuing of care in the post-cardiac catheterization period. The findings reflect the necessity of developing cardiac catheterization processes to be consistent with the hospital context and the quality-of-service standards.