Establishing Guidelines for Reducing the Waiting Time for General Disease Testing Service of Prachaksinlapakhom Hospital, Udon Thani Province

Abstract

          The objectives of guidelines to reduce waiting times for general disease testing services of Prajaksinlapakhom Hospital, Udon Thani province were to study the procedures of patient services within the hospital and to find the ways to reduce the waiting time for services at Prajaksinlapakhom Hospital. The study was conducted by interviewing 10 related persons, including medical record staff, nursing assistant staff, general examination room nursing assistants, general examination room nurses and doctors with division of 2 persons. The study results showed that there were 12 activities and 190 minutes were taken. There were 3 activities that caused the waiting time including the 3^rd stage: patients were waiting for making history records. The7^thstep: patients were waiting for the doctor and the 12^thstep: patients were wait for taking home which the 3 activities spent a period of 146 minutes for waiting or 76.84%, and the guidelines to reduce waiting times consisted of 4 approaches including: First, shortening time for medical records. Second, reducing the waiting time for doctors. Third, reducing the time to wait for medicine to take home. And fourth, improving integrated service activities. The results of 4 approaches showed that the patients took 18 minutes for disease testing which it can shorten the waiting time with the total number of 172 minutes or 90.52% and it can reduce the number of patients who received a general examination room in Prajaksinlapakhom Hospital, Udon Thani province with the total number of 48 persons per day, and can reduce the burden of doctors’ disease testing from 144 persons per day to 96 persons per day or 33.33%.