Process Analysis Tools
Most health care admissions are admitted through the emergency department, which is regarded as the key entrance into the facility. The rest of the patients access admission by a doctor in office for other illnesses or maternity (Zanoni, 2012).
Accordingly, it should be a professional physician who will be entrusted with the task of admitting and discharging a patient. However, it should be noted that it is not every physician who should be granted with this right but only those who have obtained the required level of qualification and experience. However, this is not the case in the hospital since there are no clear-cut policies or even well outlined procedures that should be followed step-by-step in order to ensure that only patients that require immediate attention from doctors get admitted and those with minor illnesses discharged immediately to access the out-patient treatment (Shields, 2003).
It should be noted that any willing doctor will not be made to admit any patient unless the laid down procedures, which must reflect guiding principles to those professional physicians, be entrusted with responsibilities and privileges. The best way to prevent doctors from admitting patients to the emergency room would be to have a clear process to follow. In order for the problem to be corrected then each and every physician much be full trained and understand the process to the fullest.
The most effective process analysis tool to solve the aforementioned issue is a flow chart. A flow chart is a diagram, which shows relevant steps of a process that is presented in a sequential order. Because flow charts are easy to read they make communicating a work process very easy and well understood. Flow charts are design to give a step by step visual idea of how work process should flow.
Each symbol on the flow chart represents the process as a whole, the elongated circles is the start or end of a process, rectangles shoe instructions and the diamonds show decisions that must be made. When it comes to putting together policys and procedure it would be at the best interest of the analyst to use flow charts because a visual view is much easier to understand, due to the simple diagram that map out a process so that it can easily be communicated to the staff.
Merits of Using a Flow Chart
Flow charts have been credited with the ability to ease the processes of interpretation and flow, documentation and addition of newer process in order to enable analysts to understand easily a given set of procedures. It also showcases steps of any process (Boulton, 2001) and assists in identifying problems and finding their immediate solutions effectively (Zanoni, 2012).
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Key:
Begin/Finish Step In A Process Decision Connector
References
Boulton, W. R. (2001). Understanding the strategic analysis model. Retrieved from www.auburn.edu/~boultwr/index.html
Shields, G. W. (2003). Process and analysis: Whitehead, Harshorne, and the analytic tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press
Zanoni, A. (2012). Strategic analysis: Processes and tools. New York: Routledge.
