Abstract
Patient Journey Maps are an emerging concept that visually map each interactive touchpoint that the patient experiences as they navigate the care continuum. The purpose of this article is to: 1) Identify the ways that patient journey mapping has been used to identify efficiencies and inefficiencies in the healthcare process from a patient perspective, 2) Identify the type of approaches that have been documented to visually identify the patient journey, 3) Identify how information tools can be taken into account to improve gaps identified by patient journey mapping; and 4) Detail what patient journey visualization and mapping tools currently exist (and are used) in research and healthcare practice. A scoping review literature exploration, following the Arksey and O’Malley Framework (2005) was conducted in the PubMed database, with a focus on English publications only, using the search terms “patient journey map.” Two researchers iteratively assessed the articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria; 30 articles were included in the study. A thematic analysis was conducted and the findings were tabulated in the data extraction table. The patient journey map has considerable promise but continues to be an underutilized resource in industry - further research and standardization is required to increase adoption in the healthcare setting.
Highlights
Journey mapping has become a ubiquitous term and is quickly gaining notoriety in industry, as an effective visualization tool for strategic business initiatives and process improvement activities
The findings indicated that providing patients with access to their health information, improved the patient and healthcare provider relationship during the patient journey “by allowing patients to review their data in detail prior to their actual visits, patients and physicians felt that the limited time available during the subsequent patient/physician interaction was used more efficiently, allowing for an enhanced level of discussion about the patient’s problems and issues such as compliance” (Cimino et al, 2002, p.125)
A total of 30 articles were included in the scoping review, a thematic analysis was conducted and the findings were tabulated in the data extraction table (Table 2)
Summary
Journey mapping has become a ubiquitous term and is quickly gaining notoriety in industry, as an effective visualization tool for strategic business initiatives and process improvement activities. “Journey maps evolved out of the service design field” (Howard, 2014, p.12) and historically designers created them as blueprints to visually detail organizational processes or services. The design outputs of these blueprints were initially simple mapping visuals and flow charts, later evolving into the robust and diverse diagrams in use today (Howard, 2014). The graphical nature of the diagrams serves as a visual conduit, allowing stakeholders to gain holistic perspectives, understand interconnected nuances of relationships and unearth organizational gaps. As a result of their effectiveness, there are many perceived benefits and opportunities for the advancement of journey mapping in industry and due to their emerging nature there is a need for standardization
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