Time motion study of registration and billing department of a tertiary care hospital in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Background: Time motion studies are used for planning and performance evaluation of the system. Effective time management in the registration and billing department of the hospital will save patients time and improve patient satisfaction. This study was conducted in the registration and billing department of a tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai. Objectives: The study aimed to analyze the time required for patients/relatives in the registration and billing department and the experience of the patients/relatives regarding the front office and discharge process in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: Acrosssectional study was conducted using the convenience sampling method, with 300 participants from the billing and registration department. The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital using a pretested structured questionnaire from August 2021 to January 2022. Results: Three-fourth (75%) and 19% of patients completed the Out-patient Department/In-patient Department registration within 5 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively, with reasonable patient satisfaction. Twenty-two percent and 45% of patients had to wait for 30 minutes and 45 minutes to complete the billing process of laboratory investigations, respectively, and patient satisfaction was reasonable. For the discharge process of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana scheme patients, 60% and 37% had to wait for 3 to 5 hours and less than 3 hours, respectively. The root cause analysis for the delay in the billing and discharge process showed that the patient load was high for daily discharges, less staff, and slow hospital software functioning in the billing department. Conclusion: The study recommended workforce and space management to improve the quality of services and patient satisfaction