Smart Tools in the Outpatient Department

Abstract

The transformations the healthcare sector is undergoing can be divided into three types of changes; gradual change, sudden change and expected change. The ageing population represents the gradual change. The ageing population brings an increased demand for care, while also an increasing need for cost control and a decrease in available capacity is noticeable in the healthcare sector. The Covid19 pandemic is an example of a sudden change, an unexpected change on which needs to be acted fast. Digitalisation is a representative for an expected change in the healthcare sector. Especially since the recent Covid19 pandemic there is a growing interest among hospital organisations in digitalisation. To be able to maintain to deliver the highest quality of care under the current circumstances, new innovative strategies and lean processes need to be developed. To accommodate these transformations the real estate of the hospital will have to change. Due to the pressure on hospitals to reduce costs and improve health service accessibility, there is an increasing demand for outpatient services. With the growing interest among hospital organisations in digitalisation and the lack of research on a real estate strategy for hospitals that includes smart tools, this research focuses on to what extent smart tools can optimise the use of scarce resources in the outpatient department of the hospital, taking into account the layout of the outpatient department. The following question is formulated to be answered: “To what extent can smart tools and layout contribute to the efficient and effective use of the scarce resources in the outpatient department of a Dutch hospital?“
To be able to answer this research question, a qualitative approach is chosen to work with. Research on the use of smart tools in the outpatient department of a Dutch hospital is still very rare, therefore a qualitative approach is recommendable. The literature review acts as the backbone of the research. The case study and semi-structured interviews are derived from the network of AT Osborne. To validate the research a project visit of a newly built smart outpatient department and an expert panel has been conducted.
The main goal of conducting this research is to find a solution for the facility and department managers of the outpatient department of the Dutch hospital to cope with the scarce resources, so the hospital can focus on its main goal ‘the delivery of high-quality healthcare’.