Using Simulation Optimization to Solve Patient Appointment Scheduling and Examination Room Assignment Problems for Patients Undergoing Ultrasound Examination

This study investigates patient appointment scheduling and examination room assignment problems involving patients who undergo ultrasound examination with considerations of multiple examination rooms, multiple types of patients, multiple body parts to be examined, and special restrictions. Following are the recommended time intervals based on the findings of three scenarios in this study: In Scenario 1, the time interval recommended for patients’ arrival at the radiology department on the day of the examination is 18 min. In Scenario 2, it is best to assign patients to examination rooms based on weighted cumulative examination points. In Scenario 3, we recommend that three outpatients come to the radiology department every 18 min to undergo ultrasound examinations; the number of inpatients and emergency patients arriving for ultrasound examination is consistent with the original time interval distribution. Simulation optimization may provide solutions to the problems of appointment scheduling and examination room assignment problems to balance the workload of radiological technologists, maintain high equipment utilization rates, and reduce waiting times for patients undergoing ultrasound examination.

Introducing eHealth solutions in Slovenia to gain time for health education: a case of electronic patient appointment scheduling

Introduction. Accelerated computerization of health systems begun in Slovenia in 2008 with the eZdravje (eHealth) project. Various aspects of the system enable patients to track different aspects of their health care more efficiently. The eNaročanje (eScheduling) part enables patients to be more actively integrated into the health services, as well as presents significant help for administrative work and more time for health education. Aim. The aim of our research was to show which type of patient appointment scheduling is the least burdensome for nurses. Material and methods. We used a quantitative research methodology. Collecting data took place in May 2017. We gathered the various patterns of scheduling patients for appointments in a single month at an outpatient care unit in the north-eastern region of Slovenia. We collected the data concerning the time needed to perform different patients’ appointment scheduling and we interpreted the data with the help of descriptive statistics. Results and conclusion. Between January 2016 and January 2017 less than 1% of patients made appointments through eNaročanje. Since January 2017, when eNaročanje started in studied unit, the percentage of patients who made their appointments through eNaročanje increased, and by May 2017 there were 60 (20%) of the overall 298 patients in the study who used the system. We came to the conclusion that in the 17 workdays in May 2017 there were 126 (42%) appointments made by men and 172 (58%) by women. An average time spent personally or on the phone calls scheduling was significantly higher than the time spent through the eNaročanje service. We have shown that out of 17 workdays, the nurse spends more than an entire workday for the patient appointment scheduling tasks (8 hours, 13 minutes and 31 seconds). Information and communication based solutions can bring many advantages, especially regarding the time burden challenges that the nurses currently face, optimization of administrative work as well as promoting health care through education of patients.