Decreasing Congestion in Hospital Orthopedic Outpatient Clinics using Business Process Reengineering

Decreasing Congestion in Hospital Orthopedic Outpatient Clinics using Business Process Reengineering

The increasing volume of outpatient services necessitates better outpatient management processes. This study proposes strategies to change the order of patient consultations and determining patients’referral intentions using business process reengineering and system simulation. After confirming the benefits of improvement through simulation, the strategies are implemented in a hospital setting. Based on real-world testing results, new strategies are proposed for further testing.
Strategy A, which involves nurses communicating with patients and understanding their consultation needs before they reach the examination room, significantly improves the outpatient congestion indicators. The average waiting time is reduced by 31%, the maximum waiting time by 57% and the maximum number of waiting patients by 25%. The results show that the transparency in outpatient business process information between healthcare providers and patients improves patient waiting times.