Queuing

Abstract

All administrators have been faced with problems concerning waiting time. Many of the complaints received by hospital executives relate to alleged excessive waits in Radiology, the Emergency Room etc. Excessive waiting time is obviously bad for the hospital: it can lead to both decline in the hospital’s image in its community as well as occasional medical mishaps. We have also all heard innumerable horror stories of hospital waiting times: people waiting hours or alternatively, the place being so deserted that the arriving patient does not dare wake the sleeping staff. These examples are all symptoms of problems in the system. Rising (1977, p3) describes the situation thus:

“Hurry up and wait”, ff being alfrustration, long waiting times for patients, and the staternately harassed and overworked, then idle, are symptoms of a poorly designed system for patient flow. These symptoms occur in many different types of outpatient facilities including medical clinics, group practices, emergency rooms, and large hospital outpatient departments. There are even patient flow problems in the offices of solo practitioners.