  Healthcare systems are challenged to deliver high-quality and efficient care.
Studying patient flow in a hospital is particularly fundamental as it
demonstrates effectiveness and efficiency of a hospital. Since hospital is a
collection of physically nearby services under one administration, its
performance and outcome are shaped by the interaction of its discrete
components. Coordination of processes at different levels of organizational
structure of a hospital can be studied using network analysis. Hence, this
article presents a data-driven static and temporal network of departments. Both
networks are directed and weighted and constructed using seven years'
(2010-2016) empirical data of 24902 Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients. The
ties reflect an episode-based transfer of ACS patients from department to
department in a hospital. The weight represents the number of patients
transferred among departments. As a result, the underlying structure of a
network of departments that deliver healthcare for ACS patients is described,
the main departments and their role in the diagnosis and treatment process of
ACS patients are identified, the role of departments over seven years is
analyzed and communities of departments are discovered. The results of this
study may help hospital administration to effectively organize and manage the
coordination of departments based on their significance, strategic positioning
and role in the diagnosis and treatment process which, in turn, nurtures
value-based and precision healthcare.
