A “patient focus review” of surgical services: Business process re-engineering in health care

Describes a business process re‐engineering project in the department of surgery of a publicly‐funded hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Through the creation of an internal marketing approach, by splitting the health system into purchaser and provider elements, the need to refocus on service provision became very apparent. Patient focus review teams were put together to analyse internal processes. Discusses in detail the outcomes of the review, highlighting the need for further changes and setting the direction for a re‐engineering programme.