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Time and motion study of anesthesiologists' workflow in German hospitals

Time-and-motion Studie der Arbeitsbedingungen von stationär tätigen Anästhesisten in deutschen Kliniken

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Zusammenfassung

GRUNDLAGEN: Ziel der Studie war es, die Arbeitsbedingungen von stationär tätigen Anästhesisten in einer Echtzeitanalyse zu erheben. METHODIK: Anästhesisten wurden für 60 Arbeitstage während ihrer gesamten Arbeitsschicht beobachtet. Dabei wurden alle Tätigkeiten, die in dieser Zeit von den Ärzten ausgeführt wurden, sekundengenau aufgezeichnet. ERGEBNISSE: Die Anästhesisten wurden insgesamt 517:16:36 Stunden (h) beobachtet. Der durchschnittliche Arbeitstag dauerte 08:37:17 Stunden. Insgesamt wurden 28,5 % der Arbeitszeit für die indirekte Patientenbehandlung verwendet, 14,7 % für die direkte Patientenbehandlung (medizinische Untersuchung etc.) und 18,8 % für administrative Tätigkeiten. Kommunikation nahm einen Tagesanteil von 19,9 % ein, Pausen und Unterbrechungen 15,2 %, sonstige Arbeitsaufgaben 2,9 %. SCHLUSSFOLGERUNGEN: Die vorliegende Studie gibt anhand von objektiven Zeitdaten Einsicht in den Arbeitsalltag und Arbeitsbedingungen von stationär tätigen Anästhesisten. Die Studienergebnisse zeigen ein starkes Ungleichgewicht zwischen den Zeitanteilen, die für die direkte Patientenbehandlung zur Verfügung steht im Verhältnis zu einem hohen Tätigkeitsanteil für die indirekte Patientenbehandlung sowie administrativen Aufgaben. Die Ergebnisse können einen wegweisenden Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen von Anästhesisten leisten, sowie zur Optimierung der Gesundheitsversorgung in Deutschland beitragen.

Summary

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate anesthesiologists' workflow in real time. METHODS: Anesthesiologists were observed for a total of 60 workdays. All tasks performed during this time were recorded in real time. RESULTS: The anesthesiologists were shadowed for a total of 517:16:36 hours. The average workday lasted 08:37:17 hours. Overall they spent 28.5% of each workday on indirect patient care, 14.7% on direct patient care and 18.8% on administrative work. Communication took up 19.9% of anesthesiologists' time, breaks and disruptions 15.2% and other job tasks 2.9%. CONCLUSIONS: The results comprise objective data about the workflow and working conditions in anesthesiology. We found support of the large imbalance between the direct patient care and the heavy administrative workload reported by physicians. These results may be useful in future efforts to improve anesthesiologists' working conditions and workflow optimization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Occupational Medicine, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Free University and Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

    Inka Hauschild & Karin Vitzthum

  2. Department of Medicine/Psychosomatics, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Free University and Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

    Burghard F. Klapp & Stefanie Mache

  3. Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany

    David A. Groneberg & Stefanie Mache

Authors
  1. Inka Hauschild
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  2. Karin Vitzthum
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  3. Burghard F. Klapp
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  4. David A. Groneberg
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  5. Stefanie Mache
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Correspondence to Stefanie Mache.

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Hauschild, I., Vitzthum, K., Klapp, B. et al. Time and motion study of anesthesiologists' workflow in German hospitals. Wien Med Wochenschr 161, 433–440 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-011-0028-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-011-0028-1

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