Application of Knowledge Management Process in Quality mprovement of Clinical Laboratories: a Case Study from Phra Phutthabat Hospital

Abstract

Knowledge  management (KM)   is a process gathering tacit and explicit  knowledge  to create  organized knowledge  documents,  accessible  to staff to be used for self-development and performance improvement. This study aimed  to apply  knowledge  management process (KMP) for  improving performance of the clinical  laboratory in Phra  Phutthabat Hospital. key performance indexes  (KPI),  namely  report of  critical   results,   turnaround  time  (TAT)  and customer  satisfaction  of laboratory services, were  included  in the study  and  monitored  before and  after  the  implementation of  KMP.  Twenty-two staff,  who  were  medical  technologists, scientists  and assistant technologists in the clinical laboratory, Phra  Phutthabat Hospital,  were recruited in the study and the assessment  was done before and after  implementation of KMP  by using the questionnaire about   knowledge   management assessment (KMA). The results showed that the recruited  staff gained KM knowledge. The study of KPI revealed that the percentage of critical  reports significantly increased  in clinical chemistry  laboratories (p  < 0.05). Moreover, the percentage of reports meeting the TAT goal for outpatient department significantly increased and  the TAT was shortened in the clinical  chemistry  and  microscopy  laboratories (p  < 0.05). Furthermore, the  customer satisfaction  of  laboratory  services, responded  by  outpatients and  relatives, nurses and  hospital  staff, was at very-good  and excellent  levels and significantly improved  (p  < 0.05). This  study   demonstrated  that  the  KM  process is  a  good   tool  for improvement of the performance of clinical laboratory services.