Using mixed methods to identify factors influencing patient flow

An effective method of identifying operational factors that influence patient flow can potentially lead to improvements and thus have huge benefits on the efficiency of hospital departments. This paper presents a new inductive mixed-method approach to identify operational factors that influence patient flow through an accident and emergency (A&E) department. Preliminary explorative observations were conducted, followed by semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. A questionnaire survey of all medical, nursing, porter and clerical staff was then conducted. The observations provided factors for further exploration: skill-mix, long working hours, equipment availability, lack of orientation programmes, inefficient IT use and issues regarding communication structures. Interviewees highlighted several factors, including availability of medical supervision and senior nursing staff, nursing documentation issues, lack of morale due to overcrowding, personality differences and factors relating to the department layout. The questionnaire respondents strongly supported the importance of the previously identified factors. This paper demonstrates an effective mixed-method approach that can be replicated by other health-care managers to identify factors influencing patient flow. Further benefits include increased volume and quality of data, increased staff awareness for the influence of internal factors on patient flow and enhancing the evidence base for future decision making when prioritizing A&E projects.