web_vol47 4.pdf - International Hospital Federation

Management: Safety and efficiency
Figure 2: Magic triangle to increase patient safety and efficiency in health care
Workflow
Customized aystem
including architecture
• Processes
• Sub-processes
• Tasks
• Organizing structure
Source: Author
Patient
Staff
qualification
Figure 3: Typical phases of planning and realization a hospital
Source: Author
patient-stay ratio;
✚ the improvement and complexity of medical procedures and
devices;
✚ the growing population combined with;
✚ the wish to stop medical tourism into western countries by;
planning new hospitals in countries with developing health
care systems.
Two issues to increase patient safety and efficiency
In conclusion it can be foreseen, that the problems concerning
Technology
Customized system
including architecture
• Medical technology
• Building technology
• Information technology
Customized teaching and
training of
• Employees
• Teams
inefficiency of hospitals and low level of
patient safety will increase in future. To
avoid this scenario, one issue is to
integrate the specialized knowledge of
processes, hygiene, medical and building
technology and training at the very
beginning of the planning process of a new
hospital or the reconstruction of an
existing hospital.
The result of such an innovative
knowledge based process is:
✚ workflow adapted architecture;
✚ workflow adapted medical technology;
✚ synchronized processes in the various
facilities of the hospital;
✚ decrease of nosocomial infections by
implementing the highest level of hygiene
standards;
✚ increase patient safety manipulating
complex medical devices and building
technology.
Figure 2 shows the magic triangle to
increase patient safety and efficiency in
health care. Figure 3 shows typical phases
of planning and realization of hospital and
Figure 4 shows the important sub-phases
of the standardized planning process to
increase safety and efficiency of the planning
process as well as the operation of the future
facility or hospital.
To ensure such results it is imperative that all
persons involved in the decisions and planning
process of a new hospital agree on the
procedure and define in a first workshop the
goals, e.g. disciplines located in the hospital,
number of ambulant patients per day, number of
physicians and nursing staff performing
procedures, standard of the realization like first
class, etc. This has to be fixed in a “Document of
specification” and signed by the administration,
investors and planning team. This document also
includes data and analysis gained from best
hospital practice audits of current workflow within
the various facilities of the existing hospital,
hygiene standards, medical and building
technology as well as the degree of training and
specialization of the employees.
In the second phase the ideal workflow
discussed and developed with the hospital staff will be described
and documented. This will be transformed in a “Layout
specification” which describes the rooms including medical
technology, building technology and hygiene properties as well as
their local relations.
In the third phase the architect uses this “Layout specification”
for his first sketches of the floor plan. It will then be discussed with
the future users especially the medical staff and will be checked in
a kind of second opinion by specialized workflow, logistics,
hygiene and waste management professionals, which come out
28 World Hospitals and Health Services Vol. 47 No. 4