During the adaptation period to new habits, every hospital needs to make some changes to prevent the transmission of covid infections in the hospitals. The Ministry of Health has issued a technical guide that should be a guide for every hospital. The Army Hospital in Padang City has a different communication flow and chain of command from hospitals owned by health institutions. This study aims to analyze efforts to optimize services for COVID-19 patients during the adaptation period for new

more »

... ts. The research design is qualitative. The study was conducted in October-December 2020. The unit of analysis is an emergency department for the Covid and non-covid services. Data were collected by interview, observation, and document review. The results showed that emergency room services were not following the technical guidelines for hospital services during the adaptation period for new habits. Some of the causes are seen in terms of input, ie. personnel, room and equipment, funding, and patient behavior as well as from the screening process. Steps that can be taken to optimize services are to create a service flow, install zone barriers, move screening rooms and improve patient education and carry out periodic monitoring and evaluation.