Postpartum discharge workflow needs assessment in maternity care

Workflow Needs Assessment: Postpartum Discharge

The goals for this needs assessment endeavor will include determining the primary causes of slowdowns in discharge proceedings for postpartum patients and newborns, determining methods by which these causes can be avoided or their effects mitigated, and determining what effect these changes would have both on the individual patients and on the overall functionality and operation of the maternity ward and the hospital as a whole. Understanding the current capabilities of the system as designed and the feasible level of re-design and differentiated/innovated processes, software, etc. that can be utilized in achieving the desired changes will form a secondary part of the needs assessment's goals. By fulfilling these goals, an effective new system of discharging postpartum patients and their newborn children can be developed and ultimately implemented, increasing efficiency.

Data Collection Methods and Environment

Direct observation is as straightforward and simple a means of data collection as it sounds: it consists of watching a process/action/person/etc. And taking systematic records of what occurs (NOAA 2011). This method is desirable in this situation as it allows for the gathering of information form a multitude of perspectives without requiring different theoretical frameworks or detailed understandings of the observed roles prior to the observation. Instead, the simple and direct recording of empirical data can occur, and a fresh perspective that unifies the roles of nurses, physicians, and patients in the discharge process can be achieved.

Interviews are another data collection method that can be especially useful in this needs assessment, as this methodology will allow for a more in-depth understanding of the experiences, needs, and desires of the main stakeholders in the discharge process through open-ended though perhaps leading questions (NOAA 2011). Interview techniques have been specifically recommended by some researchers as tools that can be sued to aid in the ongoing self-modification of healthcare organizations, so as to provide greater efficiencies and qualities of care (Browne et al. 2004). This provides an even stronger incentive for the utilization of this methodology in the data collection process, as there is strong evidence in previous research that this technique can be useful for solving workflow-issues in a goal-focused manner in healthcare organizations in particular, making it highly applicable (Browne et al. 2004).

The environment in which the data collection will take place is he maternity ward and, to a limited extent, certain individuals occupying key roles outside the maternity ward in a mid-sized hospital facility. The vast majority of the individuals observed and interviewed, including patients, are expected to be college educated -- this will necessarily be true of all physicians, nurses, and administrators observed and interviewed -- though experience levels with the specific discharge procedures in the maternity ward are expected to vary substantially not only between patients and other groups, but also within nurse, physician, and administrator groups. It is expected that at least thirty and possibly closer to fifty individuals in total will be observed and/or interviewed during the entire needs assessment process.

Conclusion

This needs assessment plan will expand upon preliminary information and assumptions, creating an objective yet detailed, comprehensive, and situation-specific understanding of postpartum discharge delays and how they can best be alleviated. The observational and interview research described will allow for the design and implementation of more effective and efficient procedures. This will improve resource utilization and the quality of care available to all patients.