Abstract
Objectives
This study compared the time efficiency of the hospital admission process using personal
mobile devices to traditional walk-in methods, thereby assessing the effectiveness
of the mobile admission process.
Methods
This retrospective study was conducted at Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital
in South Korea (August 2022–January 2023). Turnaround times for the walk-in and mobile
admission processes were compared. Patients were divided into mobile and walk-in groups
based on their admission process. Collected timestamp data were extracted by examining
patients' electronic medical record log time or caregivers' electronic signatures
on consent forms. Time intervals between timestamp data were calculated and compared.
Results
We enrolled 4,344 patients to compare the turnaround time and demographics of the
mobile (n = 1,336) and walk-in (n = 3,008) admission processes. The former had a significantly shorter mean turnaround
time (13.4 minutes) than the latter (22.2 minutes). Female patients, younger patients,
and those admitted to surgery departments were more likely to use the mobile process.
Older patients were less likely to undergo mobile admissions. A linear regression
analysis revealed that these factors significantly affected the usability of the mobile
device admission process.
Conclusion
Compared with the traditional walk-in admission process, the mobile admission process
can reduce task completion time.
Keywords
hospital administration - patient admission - telemedicine - workflow
