Framework Proposition for the Implementation of Task Shifting Practice: A Case Study in the Healthcare Sector

Healthcare sector faces many challenges related to resource allocation, scheduling and patient flow and for this reason increasingly demands operations management techniques. The presented work deals with Task shifting practice which the intention is to create a framework which describes the most relevant variables and their interconnection that affect the delegation of activities between healthcare professionals. The research follows a case study in a hospital in Italia where an intensive phase of data collection was undertaken, and analytical and empirical data analyses were carried out. The output of this work is the design of a Final Framework that outlines the variables that influencing the implementation of the task-shifting and the interconnection between them, structuring the performance measurement phase and highlighting enablers to mitigate traditional barriers. According to a managerial perspective, the outcome supports healthcare companies in the adoption of this organizational practice by reducing the effort required thanks to the deepen planning phase and the detection of tacit delegation. According to an academical perspective this work presents a new way to represent and execute a task shifting in hospitals. The future research may complete the proposed Framework by deepening the implementation phase and widening the data collection.