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Patient Unpunctuality's Effect on Appointment Scheduling: A Scenario-Based Analysis.
Ping-Shun Chen1, Hsiu-Wen Chen1, Marielle Donice M Abiog2
1Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li District, Taoyuan City 320314, Taiwan.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 21, 2023
Summary
Patient lateness significantly impacts hospital ultrasound scheduling. A simulation revealed that a preempt policy is more cost-effective than a wait policy when managing patient no-shows and delays.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Operations Research
- Medical Imaging Logistics
- Health Systems Engineering
Background:
- Patient appointment scheduling is complex, with unpunctuality causing significant disruptions.
- Optimizing ultrasound department efficiency requires understanding and mitigating the impact of patient lateness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of patient unpunctuality on appointment scheduling in a hospital ultrasound department.
- To compare the cost-effectiveness of preempt and wait policies for managing patient lateness.
- To identify key factors influencing system costs and efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Developed a simulation system using the F3 distribution to model patient unpunctuality.
- Validated the simulation model through verification and testing.
- Conducted "what-if" scenarios comparing preempt and wait policies under various unpunctuality levels.
Main Results:
- The preempt policy demonstrated superior cost performance compared to the wait policy when patient unpunctuality was present.
- Sensitivity analyses indicated that equal weighting of technician idle time and patient waiting time minimizes overall costs.
- Optimal system cost is achieved when patient inter-arrival time closely approximates the average total time in the system.
Conclusions:
- The preempt policy is recommended for managing patient unpunctuality in ultrasound scheduling to reduce overall costs.
- Balancing radiological technician idle time and patient waiting time is crucial for efficient operations.
- Strategic adjustment of patient inter-arrival times, relative to service times, can significantly improve system performance and reduce delays.
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