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Published in: Journal of Medical Systems 2/2012

01-04-2012 | Original Paper

Analysis of Factors Causing Long Patient Waiting Time and Clinic Overtime in Outpatient Clinics

Authors: Zhecheng Zhu, Bee Hoon Heng, Kiok Liang Teow

Published in: Journal of Medical Systems | Issue 2/2012

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Abstract

This paper is focused on the factors causing long patient waiting time/clinic overtime in outpatient clinics and how to mitigate them using discrete event simulation. A two-week period of data collection is conducted in an outpatient clinic of a Singapore government hospital. Detailed time study from patient arrival to patient departure is conducted, and the possible factors causing long patient waiting time/clinic overtime are discussed. A discrete simulation model is constructed to illustrate how to improve the clinic performance by mitigating the detected factors. Simulation and implementation results show that significant improvement is achieved if the factors are well addressed.
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Metadata
Title
Analysis of Factors Causing Long Patient Waiting Time and Clinic Overtime in Outpatient Clinics
Authors
Zhecheng Zhu
Bee Hoon Heng
Kiok Liang Teow
Publication date
01-04-2012
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Medical Systems / Issue 2/2012
Print ISSN: 0148-5598
Electronic ISSN: 1573-689X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-010-9538-4

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