Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
Asia and the Pacific
Thailand
2008 Category 2 Finalist
Yasothon Hospital, Thailand
Description
Providing more holistic and speedier medical care by integrating services and
reshaping the work flow at the Yasothon Hospital in Thailand.
Summary
By improving the efficiency of each unit and better integrating services, as well as by
reshaping the work flow, only 56 minutes — as compared to six to seven hours — are
now required for a patient to receive proper medical care. In 2004, the hospital was
awarded the first regional prize for good quality of public service.
The Problem
Like other public hospitals, Yasothon Hospital has faced the problem of heavy workloads
because of the growing number of patients. The 350-bed hospital provides
health care each day to more than 800 people seeking its Out-Patient Department
services. Even so, it has continually developed the front-office services and has shortened
the procedure for medical services, in line with the guidelines worked out by the
Public Sector Development Commission. For example, it has arranged a one-stop
service centre, extended service hours, and expanded the health care program to various
communities. Neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia and Vietnam, have
also sent medical teams to the hospital to learn from Thailand’s experience in improving
the delivery of services.
Yasothon General Hospital was established in 1965 initially as a 30-bed hospital.
There are currently 370 beds (with an average of 800 outpatient cases per day). Patient
satisfaction levels were beginning to decline. The service had too many steps,
each taking a long time, for example, six to seven hours for some clients until the
conclusion of the medical visit. The medical service process depended on the patient’s
conditions. For example, the patient needed to complete a new registration
card and OPD card during their first visit. Their vital signs were then recorded along
with their chief complaint and other information at the screening unit before seeing
a physician. If the physician needed more information about the patient’s illness, the
patient needed to go to a laboratory unit or X-ray unit and then come back to the
physician’s unit after he or she received the X-ray or lab results. After the physician
wrote his prescription, the patient handed in the prescription to the Pharmacy Unit
before the pharmacist dispensed the drug and provided drug counselling. Then the
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