Quality Improvement of Hand Surgery Service Process, Phrae Province

Abstract

The development of the work process is important for administrators to respond to the demands of those receiving services. Phrae Hospital has gradually increased a number of operation; and 45.0-50.0% of the cases are hand surgery. Most patients are from districts in Phrae Province; and it takes them a lot of time travelling from their homes to the hospital. The objective of this study was to develop a process of mobile hand surgery services in community hospitals in the province using Deming's Focus-PDCA quality improvement model. It was conducted from January 2014 to September 2016. There were altogether 281 patients receiving the surgical services in the district hospitals. Treatment quality, management procedures and patients’ satisfaction were assessed; and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. It was found that the project was successful in reducing un-necessary steps of the hospital services and the time consuption for the patients. About 98.3% of the patients expressed their satisfaction on the project. As a result, the number of patients travelling from district areas to receive the surgical services at Phrae hospital had gradually decreased. At the sametime, capacity on hand surgery among district hospitals was increased. Thus, the mobile hand surgery model could be consider a a best practice; and it should be applied for other surgical services in the health care system.