scholarly journals How long do nursing staff take to measure and record patients’ vital signs observations in hospital? A time-and-motion study

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 103921
Author(s):  
Chiara Dall'Ora ◽  
Peter Griffiths ◽  
Joanna Hope ◽  
Jim Briggs ◽  
Jones Jeremy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study

scholarly journals How long do nursing staff take to measure and record patients’ vital signs observations in hospital? A time-and-motion study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Dall’Ora ◽  
Peter Griffiths ◽  
Joanna Hope ◽  
Jim Briggs ◽  
Jeremy Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Standard Operating Procedure ◽  
Nursing Workload ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study ◽  
Monitoring Protocols ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTIntroductionMonitoring vital signs in hospital is an important part of safe patient care. However, there are no robust estimates of the workload it generates for nursing staff. This makes it difficult to plan adequate staffing to ensure current monitoring protocols can be delivered.ObjectiveTo estimate the time taken to measure and record one set of patient’s vital signs observations; and to identify factors associated with time to measure and record one set of patient’s vital signs observations.MethodsWe undertook a time-and-motion study of 16 acute medical or surgical wards across four hospitals in England. One hospital recorded vital signs on paper, while three recorded measurements on electronic devices. Two trained observers followed a standard operating procedure to record the time taken to measure and record vital sign observations. We used mixed-effects models to estimate the mean time using whole observation rounds, which included preparation time, or time spent taking observations at the bedside. We tested whether our estimates were influenced by nurse, ward and hospital factors.ResultsAfter excluding non-vital signs related interruptions, dividing the length of an observation round by the number of observations in that round yielded an estimated time per observation set of 5 minutes and 1 second (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 4:39-5:24). If interruptions within the round were included, the estimated time was 6:26 (95% CI = 6:01-6:50). If only time taking each patient’s observations at the bedside was considered, after excluding non-vital signs related interruptions the estimated time was 3:45 (95% CI = 3:32-3:58). We found no substantial differences by hospital, ward or nurse characteristics, despite different systems for recording observations being used across the hospitals.DiscussionThe time taken to observe and record a patient’s vital signs is considerable, so changes to recommended observation frequency could have major workload implications. Variation in estimates derived from previous studies may, in part, arise from a lack of clarity about what was included in the reported times. We found no evidence that nurses save time when using electronic vital signs recording, or that the grade of staff taking the observation influenced the time taken.ConclusionsTaking and recording vital signs observations is time consuming and the impact of interruptions and preparation away from the bedside is considerable. When considering the nursing workload around vital signs observations, no assumption of relative efficiency should be made if different technologies or staff groups are deployed.

scholarly journals Time and Motion Study of Influenza Diagnostic Testing in a Community Pharmacy

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Klepser ◽  
Allison Dering-Anderson ◽  
Jacqueline Morse ◽  
Michael Klepser ◽  
Stephanie Klepser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Pharmacy ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Pharmacy Practice ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Pharmacy Technician ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study ◽  
Time Required

Background: It has been shown that use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) is able to reduce costs and improve the prescribing practice of antivirals (i.e. oseltamivir) among patients with influenza-like illnesses (ILIs). Using existing Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA)-waived RDTs and collaborative practice agreements, similar to those used to allow pharmacists to administer vaccines, it is possible for patients to seek point-of-care treatment for influenza or flu-like symptoms at a local pharmacy. Following a review of the patient's symptoms by a trained pharmacist, the qualified patient is offered an RDT to determine if the influenza virus is the cause of the symptoms. Based on the results of the RDT, the patient is provided with the appropriate treatment as defined by an approved practice agreement. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating an RDT for influenza into community pharmacy practice. Methods: This time and motion study was conducted at three community pharmacy locations, and a total of eight simulated patient visits were completed utilizing a standardized patient. In addition to determining a total time of the encounter, each simulation was divided into nine timed sub-categories. For data analysis, the time spent in each of the nine sub-categories was assigned to the pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or patient. Time and motion methodologies were used to estimate the total time required to provide the RDT service, to determine the amount of active time required of the pharmacist and pharmacy technician, and to evaluate the ability of the staff to provide the service within its existing workflow. Results: The average total time to complete the entire patient encounter for an influenza assessment utilizing an RDT was 35.5 minutes (± 3.1 minutes). On average, the pharmacist spent 9.4 minutes (± 3 minutes) per encounter or about 26.5% of the entire encounter. When the pharmacy technician collected the vital signs, the pharmacist-required time was reduced to 4.95 minutes (± 2.7 minutes), which was about a 48% reduction. Conclusions: The results indicate that an RDT program for influenza assessment required no more than a modest amount of pharmacist time and could be successfully incorporated into regular workflow with little to no disruption of other activities. As such, this approach to influenza management may be a feasible service for community pharmacies to offer patients. This was especially true if the pharmacy had well-trained technicians on staff that could support the service with collection of patient histories and vital signs.   Type: Original Research

P416: Time use of nursing staff in the institutional long-term care: A Time-and-Motion study

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. S212
Author(s):  
A. Tuinman ◽  
M.H.G. de Greef ◽  
W.P. Krijnen ◽  
M.B. Nieweg ◽  
P.F. Roodbol
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study

Discussion on “Time and motion study” at the Yorkshire Section of the Institution

1937 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 609
Author(s):  
A. Sykes ◽  
Hall ◽  
George Hepworth ◽  
F. Grover ◽  
E. Drake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study

O-147a Assessment Of Preparation Time With Fully Liquid Versus Reconstituted Paediatric Hexavalent Vaccines. A Time And Motion Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 99 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. A80.2-A81
Author(s):  
I De Coster ◽  
X Fournie ◽  
E Ziani ◽  
B Soubeyrand ◽  
P Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Preparation Time ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study

Inspection Efficiency

1945 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
J. C. Edwards ◽  
W. A. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Statistical Quality Control ◽  
Statistical Quality ◽  
Time And Motion Study ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study

The purpose of the paper is to outline the numerous directions in which improvements can be sought in engineering inspection. It shows how direct improvements in efficiency can be effected by carefully planned methods of recording results, including the use of statistical quality control, by adopting the principles of time and motion study in the planning of flow of work through inspection, and in the design of gauging fixtures and the arrangement of gauges. The importance of correct personnel selection and organization is stressed, as is also the avoidance of duplication of inspection. The paper concludes by quoting figures showing the substantial reductions which have been achieved in the authors' company by a progressive application of the methods described over a period of several years.

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