HOSPITAL POLICY CHANGES IN OBSTETRIC PATIENT MOVEMENT

In preparation for health care reform, many hospitals are contemplatin g redesigning their physical facilities and altering patient care poli cies. Uses a large Texas hospital as the subject of this study which w as considering implementing policy changes in obstetric patient care a long with constructing labour, delivery, recovery room suites. Uses si mulation models based on Markovian patient movement to analyse whether their proposed changes will improve overall operational efficiency. T he existing as well as proposed obstetric patient movement systems wer e developed and comparisons made based on average length of stay and t otal per-patient cost to the hospital. The quantitative models proved useful in improving decision making with regard to the alternatives. A rgues that the methodology can be extended to other hospitals who seek to streamline patient movement to enhance efficiency and patient-conv enience.