Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR
ObjectivesThis research used queueing theory to analyze changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.MethodsWe focused on the exact drawing of two fundamental parameters for queueing analysis, arrival rate (λ) and service rat...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Korean Society of Medical Informatics
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Healthcare Informatics Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://e-hir.org/upload/pdf/hir-23-35.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819000077705805824 |
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| author | Kyoung Won Cho Seong Min Kim Young Moon Chae Yong Uk Song |
| author_facet | Kyoung Won Cho Seong Min Kim Young Moon Chae Yong Uk Song |
| author_sort | Kyoung Won Cho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesThis research used queueing theory to analyze changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.MethodsWe focused on the exact drawing of two fundamental parameters for queueing analysis, arrival rate (λ) and service rate (µ), from digital data to apply queueing theory to the analysis of outpatients' waiting times. We used outpatients' reception times and consultation finish times to calculate the arrival and service rates, respectively.ResultsUsing queueing theory, we could calculate waiting time excluding distorted values from the digital data and distortion factors, such as arrival before the hospital open time, which occurs frequently in the initial stage of a queueing system. We analyzed changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of EMR using the methodology proposed in this paper, and found that the outpatients' waiting time decreases after the introduction of EMR. More specifically, the outpatients' waiting times in the target public hospitals have decreased by rates in the range between 44% and 78%.ConclusionsIt is possible to analyze waiting times while minimizing input errors and limitations influencing consultation procedures if we use digital data and apply the queueing theory. Our results verify that the introduction of EMR contributes to the improvement of patient services by decreasing outpatients' waiting time, or by increasing efficiency. It is also expected that our methodology or its expansion could contribute to the improvement of hospital service by assisting the identification and resolution of bottlenecks in the outpatient consultation process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:27:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f6900740c954b07a5045d57e16c922f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2093-3681 2093-369X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:27:35Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | The Korean Society of Medical Informatics |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare Informatics Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f6900740c954b07a5045d57e16c922f2022-12-21T19:24:47ZengThe Korean Society of Medical InformaticsHealthcare Informatics Research2093-36812093-369X2017-01-01231354210.4258/hir.2017.23.1.35908Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMRKyoung Won Cho0Seong Min Kim1Young Moon Chae2Yong Uk Song3Department of Healthcare Administration, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.Department of Healthcare Administration, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.Division of Business Administration, Yonsei University Wonju Campus, Wonju, Korea.ObjectivesThis research used queueing theory to analyze changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.MethodsWe focused on the exact drawing of two fundamental parameters for queueing analysis, arrival rate (λ) and service rate (µ), from digital data to apply queueing theory to the analysis of outpatients' waiting times. We used outpatients' reception times and consultation finish times to calculate the arrival and service rates, respectively.ResultsUsing queueing theory, we could calculate waiting time excluding distorted values from the digital data and distortion factors, such as arrival before the hospital open time, which occurs frequently in the initial stage of a queueing system. We analyzed changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of EMR using the methodology proposed in this paper, and found that the outpatients' waiting time decreases after the introduction of EMR. More specifically, the outpatients' waiting times in the target public hospitals have decreased by rates in the range between 44% and 78%.ConclusionsIt is possible to analyze waiting times while minimizing input errors and limitations influencing consultation procedures if we use digital data and apply the queueing theory. Our results verify that the introduction of EMR contributes to the improvement of patient services by decreasing outpatients' waiting time, or by increasing efficiency. It is also expected that our methodology or its expansion could contribute to the improvement of hospital service by assisting the identification and resolution of bottlenecks in the outpatient consultation process.http://e-hir.org/upload/pdf/hir-23-35.pdfelectronic medical recordhealthcarequeuewaiting time |
| spellingShingle | Kyoung Won Cho Seong Min Kim Young Moon Chae Yong Uk Song Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR Healthcare Informatics Research electronic medical record healthcare queue waiting time |
| title | Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR |
| title_full | Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR |
| title_fullStr | Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR |
| title_short | Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR |
| title_sort | application of queueing theory to the analysis of changes in outpatients waiting times in hospitals introducing emr |
| topic | electronic medical record healthcare queue waiting time |
| url | http://e-hir.org/upload/pdf/hir-23-35.pdf |
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