Part of the unique element of healthcare facilities management is to plan the facility’s layout to ensure optimal patient flow. Bottlenecks in patient flow can adversely impact quality of care and patient satisfaction. Research the concept of patient flow, including from the readings this week. If you are unable to access the textbook, web search patient flow, it’s the idea of how a patient moves thru an appointment or thru the hospital, having everything laid out efficiently for the patient and the workflow.

In the first section of your paper, discuss strategies for improving patient flow.

In the next section of your paper, discuss patient flow in your department. You may want to interview other employees and/or reflect on your own observations and/or patient comments. Is your facility designed in an optimal way to ensure optimal patient flow? Why or why not? How would you design the department so as to improve patient flow? If you do not work in healthcare, try to find someone who does and explore these questions. If you can’t find someone, you can just discuss customer workflow in a facility or business with which you are familiar and discuss the same questions above regarding customer flow, and how you would design the department or facility to improve customer flow. If you don’t work in healthcare, you can speak of it hypothetically, how you feel it should work, or how you’ve seen patient flow in your own experience as a patient, or an experience with which you are familiar.

Your paper must have:

• 700+ words

• At least one source (the textbook or article you are summarizing)

• APA 6th edition format