Identification of Prerequisites for the Deployment of Business Process Management Practices in Iran’s Hospitals

Business Process Management (BPM) is a disciplined approach that allows a business to identify, model, deploy, execute, manage, monitor, and improve its processes in a standardized manner. This research aimed to identify the prerequisites for the deployment of this approach in Iran’s Hospitals. The present research was a qualitative cross-sectional study which was conducted using the content analysis method in 2017. Sampling was performed using the purposive sampling method and continued until data saturation. The participants were 18 men and 5 women. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using the content analysis method. After analyzing the contents of the interviews, we classified the prerequisites for the deployment of BPM practices into six themes and 14 subthemes: Process Engineering, Flexible Treatment Guidelines and Procedures, Flexible Organizational Rules, Learning Organization, Smart Electronic Filing, and Access Control Systems. According to the experts interviewed, decision-makers have to carefully address the prerequisites such as legal and cultural requirements and the limitations such as budgetary constraints before initiating the deployment of BPM systems. Overall, it appears that the localization and deployment of this approach, as much as it is currently possible, can benefit the Iranian healthcare systems as well as Iranian patients.