Case Study

Case Study

Introduction

This is a case study of Ruth, a lady who found herself pregnant and went to a primary care physician for a referral to nearby hospital. This is a real experience of early antenatal care, and the lady belongs to United States. There is a possibility that a similar case/experience can occur in Australia, so this paper will throw light on the solution of this case.

Main Issues in the Case Study

Ruth, after knowing the fact that she is pregnant, she visited a primary care physician to take a referral for birth centre at her neighbourhood. Her appointment with the primary care physician was scheduled during her work hours. Though it was inconvenient for her but she managed to do so because she wants her pregnancy to be a secret, from her boss. Firstly she had a registration at the receptionist of the primary care physician, at the day of appointment, and then she met her physician. The primary care physician took a urine test and confirmed her pregnancy. Despite the fact that, Ruth had this same urine before, which let her, knew about her pregnancy and made her write referral letter.

After this, Ruth was able to secure a spot on Saturday morning, when she was called for an appointment at birth centre. At the birth centre, she gave the referral letter to the receptionist who positioned the referral letter in a folder. A midwife met her and she had undergone a physical examination of body. Along with this, midwife provided her with a questionnaire which had 10 questions to answer. This questionnaire is used for the assessment of risk factors related to pregnancy. She took the survey questionnaire to her home for consultation with her mother, so that she would be able to know about the reproductive history of her family. Midwife communicated her that regarding the new hospital policy she would go through a genetic test for cystic fibrosis, along with this a blood sample would be drawn from the body.

After the preparation of referral forms, receptionist sent her to the near hospital's blood laboratory. Again she had to go through a registration process in the hospital. Then she waited for a phlebotomist for drawing the sample of blood for test. Phlebotomist refused to draw her blood for test because of the fact that it was Saturday. Her routine check up for pregnancy was then delayed to next week because of mismanagement and inefficient use of time.

Role of Health Service Manager in the Improvement of Patient Care Journey Using ICT

A health service manager can play a significant role in improving the patient care journey with the assistance of ICT (Information Communication Technology). ICT basically provides projects for the improvement of healthcare systems in a hospital setting. ICT also help in the improvement of patient health care outcomes and patient experience.

A health service manger can devise such a system which must be facilitative for the patient, in order to avoid the waste of ...