Process Mapping Occupational Therapy Activity within a Medical Admissions Unit

Abstract

There are increasing demands on professionals within health care to provide a service that meets the needs and expectations of patients. This requires the patient to be placed at the centre of the care pathway. Occupational therapy is well placed to contribute to this change in emphasis because of its fundamental client-centred philosophy. Experience has shown, however, that the realisation of these aims has been a challenge for all health care professionals. Increasingly, the National Health Service is drawing upon expertise from outside and, in particular, the quality improvement tools that are used within industry. This article explores the use of the traditional quality tool of process mapping in the evaluation and review of occupational therapy processes. The use of this tool is explained in relation to a clinical audit within a medical admissions unit. The results of the process mapping exercise, and the associated audit that was undertaken, demonstrated the value of the approach. In particular, process mapping enabled the occupational therapy service to evaluate systematically the service being provided and to visualise the optimum pathway of care.