Study to Determine if a Difference Exists between the Perceived and Actual Percentage of Time Devoted to Patient Care and Non-Patient Care by Physical Therapy Personnel at Tripler Army Medical Center

摘要

The concern over the rising cost of health care has prompted investigations into the effective and efficient use of personnel and the provision of quality care. Important tools in these investigations are the standards, guidelines, and methodologies for determining manpower requirements for a specific activity. Deficiencies in these tools require additional justifications as to why deviations or exceptions exist. This study was conducted to determine if a difference exists between the perceived and actual percentage of time devoted to patient care and non-patient care by physical therapy personnel at Tripler Army Medical Center. A survey of physical therapy personnel was administered to assess their perceptions of duty time spent in patient care. Actual duty performance was observed for each physical therapy person. A significant difference was found between perceived and actual percentage of time spent in patient care activities. Time spent in patient care was overstated by all staff members and time spent in non-patient care activities were understated. The author recommends use of observers to measure actual time spent in patient care for manpower surveys due to the large discrepancies found between actual and perceived time spent in patient care. Keywords: Theses, Health administration, Medical services. (KT)