Ultrasound examination process improvement of pregnant women: A simulation approach

Background

Ultrasound is the safest diagnostic method for obstetrics and gynecology problems. The demand for ultrasound has increased and as a result, waiting times have also increased. Pregnant women are under considerable physical and emotional stress. Long waiting time increases their anxiety which is harmful to the health of the mother and fetus. The present study aims to improve the ultrasound service process to reduce waiting times and rework for pregnant women.

Methods

In the present research, the radiology department in a Women's Hospital was considered. We used the BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) standard to visualize the processes and the Value stream mapping technique to identify non-value-added activities. Improvement scenarios were applied to the DES (Discrete event simulation) model to evaluate their impact on the process KPIs. Four categories of improvement scenarios were presented in this research, including scenarios of an increase in the number of resources, changes in resource planning, elimination of wastes, and combined scenarios.

Findings

The results of the scenarios included a reduction of 28.07 % in the average time of the outpatient LOS (Length of stay) in the system, a decline of 37.69 % in the average time of inpatient LOS in the system and a reduction of 40.4 % in the average time of the emergency patient LOS in the system.

Conclusions

The scenarios proposed revealed that it can reduce the waiting time of patients significantly. As the results showed, the combined scenarios had the greatest improvement effect on all KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).