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Table 4 The frequency of used tools or activities to improve patient logistics (in numbers)

From: Exploring improvements in patient logistics in Dutch hospitals with a survey

Tools

Total N

Always used

Regularly used

Sometimes used

Rarely used

Never used

Use of flow charts

38

16

19

3

0

0

Standardized care pathways

36

5

22

6

3

0

Elimination of waste

37

5

12

10

7

3

Distinction between flow charts and value stream

34

5

5

12

4

8

Line balancing

35

4

20

7

3

1

Bottleneck has been identified

36

4

13

14

4

1

Cause-and-effect relations

38

4

8

12

10

4

Process time variability

35

2

19

11

3

0

Bottleneck has been quantitatively determined

34

2

14

11

6

1

Decide after quantifying effects

36

2

8

14

10

2

Reduce care demand variability

35

1

20

5

7

2

Reduce variability in capacity

35

1

18

11

5

0

Focus on patient group or service

34

1

11

11

5

6

Specific resources for focus groups

35

1

9

14

8

3

Variability pooling

32

1

7

5

10

9

Identifying best-practices together

35

1

4

11

13

6

Use of control charts

30

1

3

4

11

11

Simulation

32

1

2

3

12

14

Comparison of processes

34

0

5

13

12

4

Comparison of outcomes and inputs

33

0

4

13

11

5

Other operations research techniques than simulations

32

0

4

5

8

15

Use of 5 S

33

0

3

7

10

13

Critical path analysis

32

0

3

3

7

19

Drum-buffer rope principals

29

0

3

1

3

22

DEA analysis

27

0

2

1

4

20

  1. N = number of hospitals.