Managing Out-Patient and In-Patient Registration Procedures

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Types of Patient Registration

There are two types of patient registration

Out-patients registration

In-patients registration

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The Unit System

A health records system in which all health records and notes, relating to one patient are contained in one case folder/card, under one health facility registration number.

Principles of unit system used in the health facility during the registration of out-patient and in-patient are:

A patient is a unit.

One patient, one folder/card.

One patient, one number.

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Patient should be asked whether he has attended that hospital before-if ‘yes’ then he/she should use the same unit number.

If the answer is ‘no’, then a new number should be given.

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Out and in- patients, the patient is registered and file/card opened.

The registration environment should be conducive and the patients should be interviewed individually and in privacy.

The identification details that are taken during the registration time are used to create the patients file/card.

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Identification details include

Patients full names

Date of birth

Place of birth (district)

Sex

Religion

Health facility number given

Address

Street

Location

Sub location

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Patient/client telephone number

Occupation

Marital status

Name of next of kin

Address of next of kin

Height

Weight

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A systematic way of giving a specific date, time and venue of the clinic to an individual patient/client.

The staff working in the clinics should ensure that they arrive to work on time so that patients are not kept waiting for long before they are seen.

Overloading of clinics should be avoided.

It is important to keep track of the number of appointments that are scheduled each day so that the clinic is capable of dealing with all of the scheduled patients that will come on that day.

Each facility should have their own protocol on how to schedule and accommodate urgent or severe cases.

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Scheduling patient appointments helps to

Reduce patients waiting time

Provide an even spread of work over the whole clinic session

Provides an even spread of work among the medical staff running the clinic

Allow the health facility to prepare for each patient in advance so that registration delay upon arrival to the clinic can be reduced

Provide for special clinic arrangements, for example recording of social history, weighing of patients, removal of plaster pathological and radiological examinations

Provide time of planning for teaching arrangements

Allow presentation of an interesting case to students for educational purposes

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The choice of tools will depend on whether the appointment is being made centrally or decentrally.

Loose -leaf binders

These are books which vary in size and it is recommended that they be in loose-leaf form to facilitate additions and removal of the sheets

The type to be used depends on the local circumstances

Visible-edge sheet

These sheets are fixed on the cardex and the information written on them can easily be seen when the cardex is open

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Books that are bound can be used to write all the appointments for one doctor

Disadvantage of using diaries are

Many cancellations can lead to an untidy the diary

You cannot photocopy from the diary directly and shared, list must be written out on separate paper first before photocopying

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Done through the routine scheduling of the appointments.

Whenever a patient is scheduled for a next appointment, follow-up is conducted.

Based on the outcome of each appointment, patient is assessed to determine whether or not another appointment is needed.

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There are three types of appointment systems commonly used in the health facility. These are:

Centralized

Decentralized

Combined appointment system

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This means that all the appointments for the various clinics are made in one central place

Advantages

Easier control of staff, stationery and equipment

Each of the appointment recorder become familiar with the working systems of the various health facility

All enquiries concerning appointments are referred to one place

Urgent cases can be channelled quickly to the respective clinics

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In this approach, different appointment systems are used in different clinics.

Advantages

The recorder dealing with the appointments becomes familiar with the patients and knows them by name.

The consultant/clinician in charge of the clinic will know the number of patients on her/his list without having to walk or ring the central area.

Disadvantages

Control of available resources is difficult.

When the recorder of the clinic becomes sick or is on leave the work becomes difficulty to the new recorder.

Enquiries concerning appointment are directed to different places.

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Some of the health facilities have the two systems combined.

Return appointments being made in the various clinics, and new bookings being done in the central area.

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Patient registration is a procedure of documenting patient data.

There are two types of patient registration namely out-patients and in-patients registration.

Each and every patient should only have one unit number throughout the registration/return appointment processes.

Scheduling and follow up of patients should be done in a systematic way by giving specific date, time and venue of the clinic.

The three types of appointment systems are centralized, decentralized and combined appointment systems.

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What is patient registration?

What are the patient registration details?

What is centralised, decentralised and combined appointment?

What are the advantages of centralized and decentralized appointment system

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