IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i17p9386-d629776.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Processing Cycle Efficiency to Monitor the Performance of an Intelligent Tube Preparation System for Phlebotomy Services

Author

Listed:
  • Ming-Feng Wu

    (Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan
    Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung 406, Taiwan)

  • Jen-Ying Li

    (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan)

  • Yu-Hsuan Lin

    (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan)

  • Wei-Chang Huang

    (Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan
    Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli 350, Taiwan
    School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
    Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan)

  • Chi-Chih He

    (Department of Neurological Institute, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan)

  • Jiunn-Min Wang

    (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan)

Abstract

Background: The waiting time (WT) for a phlebotomy is directly related to patient satisfaction with a health service. However, the processing time varies widely depending on the type of patients. Monitoring of the WT alone may not enable an effective evaluation of the lean performance of the medical staff for patients with different characteristics. The objective of this study was to use process cycle efficiency (PCE) to assess the performance of an intelligent tube preparation system (ITPS) which automatically labeled test tubes and conducted patient rerouting for phlebotomy services, and to interpret the WT during peak hours. Methods: Three time periods were used. The baseline period was from 1 July to 31 July 2014. Phase 1 was after the establishment of the ITPS, with patients ≥80 years old being rerouted. In phase 2, patients ≥78 years old were rerouted. Those data were recorded with a calling system and ITPS, respectively. Results: PCE was significantly improved from 12.9% at baseline to 51.1% ( p < 0.001) in phase 1 and 53.0% ( p < 0.001) in phase 2. The WT of 16.9 min at baseline was reduced to 3.8 min in phase 1 ( p < 0.001), and 3.6 min in phase 2 ( p < 0.001). Moreover, the results showed that a WT < 10 min was consistent with a PCE ≥ 25%. Conclusions: Establishing an ITPS for phlebotomy can significantly increase PCE and shorten the WT. Furthermore, the PCE ≥ 25% could be a good assessment reference for the management of appropriate human resources for phlebotomy services, although it is a complex parameter.

Suggested Citation

  • Ming-Feng Wu & Jen-Ying Li & Yu-Hsuan Lin & Wei-Chang Huang & Chi-Chih He & Jiunn-Min Wang, 2021. "Processing Cycle Efficiency to Monitor the Performance of an Intelligent Tube Preparation System for Phlebotomy Services," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9386-:d:629776
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9386/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9386/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ting Wan Tan & Han Ling Tan & Man Na Chang & Wen Shu Lin & Chih Ming Chang, 2021. "Effectiveness of Epidemic Preventive Policies and Hospital Strategies in Combating COVID-19 Outbreak in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Juan A. Marin-Garcia & Pilar I. Vidal-Carreras & Julio J. Garcia-Sabater, 2021. "The Role of Value Stream Mapping in Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-25, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Seng-Su Tsang & Zhih-Lin Liu & Thi Vinh Tran Nguyen, 2023. "Family–work conflict and work-from-home productivity: do work engagement and self-efficacy mediate?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Juan A. Marin-Garcia & Tomas Bonavia, 2021. "Empowerment and Employee Well-Being: A Mediation Analysis Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Denisse Domínguez-Alfaro & Ismael Mendoza-Muñoz & Mildrend Ivett Montoya-Reyes & Olivia Yessenia Vargas-Bernal & Gabriela Jacobo-Galicia, 2023. "Design and Implementation of Integral Ergo-Value Stream Mapping in a Metal-Mechanical Company to Improve Ergonomic and Productive Conditions: A Case Study," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Simona Andreea Apostu & Valentina Vasile & Cristina Veres, 2021. "Externalities of Lean Implementation in Medical Laboratories. Process Optimization vs. Adaptation and Flexibility for the Future," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Oscar Morell-Santandreu & Cristina Santandreu-Mascarell & Julio J. Garcia-Sabater, 2021. "A Model for the Implementation of Lean Improvements in Healthcare Environments as Applied in a Primary Care Center," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-30, March.
    6. Pilar I. Vidal-Carreras & Julio J. Garcia-Sabater & Juan A. Marin-Garcia, 2022. "Applying Value Stream Mapping to Improve the Delivery of Patient Care in the Oncology Day Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Daniele La Forgia & Gaetano Paparella & Rahel Signorile & Francesca Arezzo & Maria Colomba Comes & Gennaro Cormio & Antonella Daniele & Annarita Fanizzi & Agnese Maria Fioretti & Gianluca Gatta & Miri, 2022. "Lean Perspectives in an Organizational Change in a Scientific Direction of an Italian Research Institute: Experience of the Cancer Institute of Bari," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9386-:d:629776. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.