Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Outpatients: can we save time and reduce waiting lists?

M Duncan1, K Beale, J Parry

  • 1Department of Urology, Royal Northern Hospital, London.

British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
|April 30, 1988
PubMed
Summary

This study looked at how much time a urologist spent on administrative tasks during outpatient visits. Over six weeks, it was found that nearly half of the time was spent on non-medical duties like searching for missing data and clerical work. The study linked this to a shortage of clerical staff, which led to reliance on expensive agency staff. The authors suggest that government action is needed to improve staffing and reduce waiting times without increasing costs. Better staffing could help shorten waiting lists and improve morale in healthcare.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A quantitative assessment of the time to complete the Master of Medicine research thesis in a cohort of paediatrics registrars at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde·2024
Same author

The paediatric liver transplant experience in Johannesburg, South Africa: A broad overview and update.

South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde·2024
Same author

The effect of a home-based, gamified stability skills intervention on 4-5-year-old children's physical and cognitive outcomes: A pilot study.

Psychology of sport and exercise·2024
Same author

The influence of fear of falling on the control of upright stance across the lifespan.

Gait & posture·2024
Same author

Help-seeking intentions of UK construction workers: a cross-sectional study.

Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)·2024
Same author

Cognitive mechanisms and resilience in UK-based general practitioners: cross-sectional findings.

Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)·2023

Area of Science:

  • Healthcare administration
  • Urology clinical practice
  • Health service efficiency

Background:

Healthcare systems globally face challenges in managing outpatient waiting times. Prior research has shown that administrative inefficiencies contribute to delays in patient care. It was already known that staffing shortages affect service delivery in hospitals. No prior work had resolved how clerical tasks impact specialist consultations. This gap motivated a closer look at time spent on non-medical duties. That uncertainty drove an investigation into consultant urologists' schedules. The study aimed to quantify the proportion of time lost to administrative work. These findings could inform strategies to improve clinic efficiency.

Purpose Of The Study:

This study aimed to assess the time a consultant urologist spent on administrative tasks during outpatient sessions. The specific problem was the growing waiting lists in urology clinics. The motivation came from observing long delays in patient appointments. The researchers wanted to identify avoidable administrative delays. They focused on tasks like searching for missing clinical data. The goal was to determine if these tasks could be reduced. This could help shorten waiting times without increasing costs. The study sought to highlight the role of staffing in this issue.

Keywords:
outpatient delayshealthcare staffingadministrative efficiencyurology clinic management

Frequently Asked Questions

The study found that nearly half of the consultant's time was spent on non-medical duties.

Low salaries offered to in-house staff led to a reliance on agency-provided secretarial staff.

Hiring from agencies increased costs, even though 40% of staff came from these sources.

The researchers propose that administrative tasks delay patient appointments and increase waiting times.

The study found that 20 minutes per session were spent searching for missing clinical data.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

The study tracked a consultant urologist's time over six weeks. Researchers recorded the duration of administrative tasks. They categorized tasks into data searches and clerical duties. The time spent on each category was measured in minutes. The analysis compared administrative time to clinical time. The team noted the proportion of sessions affected. They identified the cause of inefficiencies as staffing shortages. The study used observational data to support these claims.

Main Results:

Administrative tasks consumed nearly half of the consultant's time. The average time spent on non-medical duties was 45 minutes per session. Searching for missing clinical data took up 20 minutes per session. Clerical tasks accounted for the remaining 25 minutes. The study found that 40% of secretarial staff came from agencies. This was attributed to low in-house staff salaries. The researchers observed that this reliance increased costs. These findings suggest a need for staffing reforms in clinics.

Conclusions:

The authors propose that administrative tasks are a major cause of delays in outpatient clinics. They suggest that insufficient clerical staff leads to agency dependence. This dependence increases costs without improving efficiency. The study highlights the need for government intervention. Urgent action is needed to address staffing shortages. This could reduce waiting times without raising total costs. The findings imply that better staffing would improve morale. The authors suggest this could benefit the health service broadly.

The authors suggest government action to improve staffing and reduce reliance on agencies.