Patient flow improvement for an ophthalmic specialist outpatient clinic with aid of discrete event simulation and design of experiment

Abstract

Continuous improvement in process efficiency for specialist outpatient clinic (SOC) systems is increasingly being demanded due to the growth of the patient population in Singapore. In this paper, we propose a discrete event simulation (DES) model to represent the patient and information flow in an ophthalmic SOC system in the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). Different improvement strategies to reduce the turnaround time for patients in the SOC were proposed and evaluated with the aid of the DES model and the Design of Experiment (DOE). Two strategies for better patient appointment scheduling and one strategy for dilation-free examination are estimated to have a significant impact on turnaround time for patients. One of the improvement strategies has been implemented in the actual SOC system in the SNEC with promising improvement reported.

Optimizing the Performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Department Using Queuing Theory and Simulation

“…The results of Amina et al (33) showed that the highest average time was related to the waiting time between requesting laboratory tests and receiving their results. The results of Pan et al (18) showed that the highest and lowest average time were, respectively, related to the patients' examinations by the residents studying in the 1st and 2nd years, and the time spent in the cashier station. Moreover, the results of Ameh et al (34) showed that the highest and lowest average of waiting time were related to the orthopedic clinic and dermatology clinic, respectively.…”

“…Simulation allows examining the effects of different solutions to improve the current situation and reduces the costs and risks of actual implementation of solutions (17,18). The simulation with various scenarios can predict the results of making changes in the important elements of a system, including costs, waiting time, and staff, and help managers to make the right decisions to optimize the system performance (17,18).…”

Decision Support for Resource Optimization Using Discrete Event Simulation in Rehabilitation Hospitals

“…The model output results were compared to the actual operational data for fi scal year 2013 from the Geisinger Health System's electronic health records. Pan et al (2015) proposed the use of DES to represent patients and information fl ow in an ophthalmic specialist outpatient clinic. The model was used to identify strategies to improve patient experience by evaluating the total time between the arrival of a patient and the departure from the clinic (turnaround time).…”

Design of a Patient-Centered Appointment Scheduling with Artificial Neural Network and Discrete Event Simulation

“…Service quality of outpatient clinics are affected by numerous factors [4] [5], one of which is the design of the outpatient appointment system [6] [7]. Usually, a patient will make an appointment to obtain the scheduled time for his/her clinical visit before the outpatient service, and then he/she will visit the clinic according to this message [8].…”