title: Patient management for cochlear implant recipients in audiology departments: A practice review.
abstract: To determine and evaluate the time clinics needed to complete the sub-processes involved in the first-fitting and follow-up fitting of people with a cochlear implant.
  
  
  
  Eight HEARRING clinics completed a questionnaire recording how long it took to complete the sub-processes involved in first-fitting and follow-up fitting cochlear implant recipients. The mean times of clinics and procedures were then compared.
  
  
  
  Questionnaires on 77 patients were completed. Clinics varied widely on time spent on each sub-process in both first- and follow-up fittings. Total first-fitting times were similar across clinics. Follow-up fitting times varied more across clinics although this may have been due to differences in questionnaire interpretation.
  
  
  
  If a patient management plan can help increasingly busy cochlear implant clinics provide high-quality care more efficiently, essential first steps are determining which procedures are generally performed and how long their performance takes. Until reliable data are gathered, constructing a patient management plan or reaping the potential benefits of its use will remain elusive; clinics will have to find what solutions they can to meet rising workload demands.
  
  
  
  The variation in time spent on each sub-process may suggest that some clinics have more efficient workflow procedures. Compiling a best practice for each process could be instrumental in creating a professional process management plan that would increase efficiency without sacrificing quality of care.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing , Kajetany , Poland.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorens
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing , Kajetany , Poland.
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Skarzynski
authors.affiliation: b Clinica Rivas , Bogotá , Colombia.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: b Clinica Rivas , Bogotá , Colombia.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: c London Health Science Centre , London , Canada.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: c London Health Science Centre , London , Canada.
authors.forename: Lorne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parnes
authors.affiliation: d Hospital La Paz , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lassaletta
authors.affiliation: d Hospital La Paz , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Javiér
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gavilán
authors.affiliation: e Antwerp University Hospital , Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc De
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bodt
authors.affiliation: e Antwerp University Hospital , Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van de Heyning
authors.affiliation: f Bradford Royal Infirmary , UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: f Bradford Royal Infirmary , UK.
authors.forename: Christopher H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.affiliation: g Madras ENT Research Foundation , Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Ranjith
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajeswaran
authors.affiliation: g Madras ENT Research Foundation , Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kameswaran
authors.affiliation: h ENT Super Specialty Institute and Research Center , Calicut , India.
authors.forename: Manikoth
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manoj
authors.affiliation: h ENT Super Specialty Institute and Research Center , Calicut , India.
authors.forename: Sasidharan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pulibalathingal
mesh_terms: D000359:Aftercare / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001298:Audiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Clinic; Cochlear implant; Lean; Time-study analysis; Workflow