A Unique Mathematical Framework for Optimizing Patient Satisfaction in Emergency Departments

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Fouman Faculty of Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

2 School of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In healthcare systems, emergency departments (EDs) are the most vital elements, in that they provide critical and immediate healthcare services to the patients 24 hours a day. Patient satisfaction is a crucial concept and a practical tool for evaluating the performance of the EDs. This study presents a unique framework for the performance optimization of an emergency department in a big general hospital in Iran based on the standard patient satisfaction indicators. Standard questionnaire is designed and used in a large and busy emergency department. The reliability and validity of the questionnaires are obtained by Cronbach’s alpha and parametric and non-parametric analysis of variance (ANOVA), respectively. Afterwards, the most efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is selected and employed to assess the performance of the emergency department based on the selected indicators. Results show that certain indicators such as quality of equipment, performance of physicians and treatment time have the greatest impact (weight) on overall patient satisfaction. The framework of this study is a practical approach for all types of emergency departments in the process of the improvement and optimization of patient satisfaction.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [Persian]

یک چارچوب ریاضی منحصر به فرد برای بهینه‌‌سازی رضایت بیمار در بخش‌های اورژانس

Authors [Persian]

  • حمیدرضا فرزانه خلق آباد 1
  • نگین علی سلطانی 2
  • سلمان نظری شیرکوهی 1
  • محمدعلی آزاده 2
  • سعید موسی‌خانی 2
1 گروه مهندسی صنایع و سیستم‌ها، دانشکده فنی فومن، پردیس دانشکده های فنی، دانشگاه تهران، ایران
2 دانشکده مهندسی صنایع، پردیس دانشکده‌های فنی، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
Abstract [Persian]

بخش اورژانس بیمارستان، اولین مکان ارائه خدمات تشخیصی و درمانی به بیماران اورژانسی می‌باشدکه بصورت 24 ساعته به بیماران سرویس می‌دهد. از این رو، ارزیابی عملکرد بخش‌ اورژانس از طریق ارزیابی رضایت بیمار یک مفهوم حیاتی و ابزار عملی محسوب می‌گردد. این مطالعه یک چارچوب ریاضی منحصر به فرد برای بهینه‌‌سازی رضایت بیمار در بخش‌های اورژانس ارائه می‌دهد. به منظور گردآوری داده‌ها برای ارزیابی عملکرد بخش اورژانس بیمارستان، پرسشنامه استاندارد طراحی شده است. پایایی و روایی پرسشنامه‌ها به وسیله آلفای کرونباخ و تحلیل واریانس پارامتری و غیر پارامتری (ANOVA) بدست آمده است. علاوه بر این، در این مقاله برای ارزیابی عملکرد بخش اورژانس براساس شاخص‌های منتخب از روش تحلیل پوششی داده‌ها (DEA) استفاده شده است. نتایج نشان می‌دهد که شاخص‌های خاص مانند کیفیت تجهیزات، عملکرد پزشکان و زمان درمان بیشترین تاثیر (وزن) بر رضایت بیمار را دارند. چارچوب ارئه شده در این مطالعه یک رویکرد عملی برای همه بخش‌های اورژانس در روند بهبود و بهینه سازی رضایت بیمار است.

Keywords [Persian]

  • بخش اورژانس
  • رضایت بیمار
  • تحلیل پوششی داده ها (DEA)
  • تجزیه و تحلیل واریانس (ANOVA)
  • تحلیل حساسیت

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Iranian Journal of Management Studies
Volume 12, Issue 2
April 2019
Pages 255-279

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