Factors affecting the overcrowding in outpatient healthcare
نویسندگان
1 Department of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz
2 Health Services Management Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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doi
چکیده
Background: The expansion of outpatient services and the desire to provide more outpatientcare than inpatient care create some problems such as the overcrowding in the outpatientclinics. Given the importance of overcrowding in the outpatient clinics, this qualitative studyaimed to determine the factors influencing the overcrowding in the specialty and subspecialtyclinic of a teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted inthe specialty and subspecialty clinic of a hospital using content analysis method in the periodof January to March 2014. The study population was all managers and heads of the outpatientwards. The studied sample consisted of 22 managers of the clinic wards who were selectedusing the purposive sampling method. The required data was collected using semi‑structuredinterviews. The collected data was analyzed using conventional content analysis and theMAXQDA 10.0 software. Results: Three themes were identified as the main factors affectingthe overcrowding including the internal positive factors, internal negative factors, and externalfactors. Conclusions: Despite the efforts made to eliminate overcrowding, and reduce waitingtimes and increase access to the services for patients, the problem of overcrowding still hasremained unresolved. In addition, the use of some strategies such as clarifying the workingprocesses of the clinic for staff and patients and the relationships between the clinic andother wards especially emergency department, as well as using a simple triage system on thepatients’ arrival at the clinic are recommended.
