An Optimization of Outpatients’ Waiting Time and Health-related Risks

Abstract The study of optimal queuing systems in healthcare is crucial at such a time as this to help decongest the system, and minimize financial and health-related risks associated with long waiting queues. This study examined a queuing system at an outpatient hospital clinic post intending to minimize waiting time in association with financial cost and healthcare-related risks. We observed the queuing system using the sampling survey information of 200 outpatients that visited the clinic for 4 weeks. We used the initial queuing ground truth parameters as the baseline scenario and further simulated 4 other queuing scenarios using the TORA optimization software. We calculated the total expected cost associated with the server(s) (Doctors) and the patients while in the queuing system for each scenario. We further discretize their health-related complications and calculated the incidence rate of the patients while in the queuing system to evaluate their health-related risks. The findings of our study showed that the system utilization, optimal expected total cost, health-related risks (risk of discomfort and illness/infections developed while in the queue), and waiting time are optimal at the hospital clinic with 5 severs (doctors). The contribution of this study arose from the incorporation of health-related risks incidence that patients could develop while in the queuing system.