Efficiency and planning in the Swedish healthcare system – and design of a digital scheduling tool

Sammanfattning: The Swedish regions struggle with resource utilization issues that threaten the ability to provide timely and efficient healthcare to the citizens. This study aims to investigate and map the current production, planning, and scheduling processes within the Swedish healthcare, as well as develop a digital solution. This is done through a user-centered design process, with the goal of designing a digital solution that will assist hospital staff in their everyday work. An extensive user study was performed where 23 subjects from five different hospitals around Sweden were interviewed. The data from these interviews was analyzed with a thematic analysis to find and understand the needs and requirements of the users. Based on the results of the user study, four personas were created that conveyed the different needs. In addition, nine conceptual models of possible solutions were created, incorporating the mentioned personas. After evaluation of the concepts it was decided to go forward with a model of a digital support for schedulers and personnel within healthcare, that aims to aid in making functional schedules more efficiently. From the final concept, three iterations of prototyping were performed; two lo-fi prototypes mainly sketched on paper, and one digital hi-fi prototype. All iterations included designing, testing and evaluating the prototype on 3-5 test subjects, and applying the feedback in the next iteration. A final model was created based on the feedback from the hi-fi iteration. Throughout the process an effort was made to incorporate and meet as many of the found needs as possible. The final model is a prototype of a website for schedulers and personnel at hospitals, aiding them in making functional, healthy schedules. The next steps are to further develop the prototype, test it more widely on hospital personnel, and implement the software. With this thesis, we have established some of the main needs in the Swedish healthcare sector relating to production, planning and scheduling. The extensive user study has shed light on several areas within this scope with a need for improvement. These include scheduling of staff, organizational workflow, organizational structure and coordination, work procedures, work environment, and communication. The prototype presented succeeds in meeting some of these needs. In order to meet all needs further research and a closer collaboration with healthcare professionals is necessary.