Application of Queuing Theory to Optimize Waiting-Time in Hospital Operations

Abstract

Waiting time is inherent to the healthcare service sectors in Nigeria and a major challenge faced by almost every big hospital is queuing. Long waiting time can be a reflection of inefficiency in hospital operations. The out-patient department (OPD) has the biggest queue as compared to other departments in hospital operations. This study comprises of in-depth analysis of OPD from different dimensions. Like in many big hospitals across Nigeria, the OPD of General Hospital in Minna Niger State, Nigeria is managed using experience and rule of thumb rather than strategic research-based techniques such as queuing theory. The General Hospital in Minna Niger State, receives a large number of patients each day which results in longer waiting time for patients due to long queues. To address the challenge, queueing model was design to identify the bottlenecks in service operations and potential areas for improvement in the system, with the objective of optimizing patients waiting time, thereby allowing a higher flow of patients in OPD using queuing model. The result from the multi- server model (m/m/s) shows that the probability of having zero patients in the queue at the OPD unit in the clinic is 0.71 (71%). This infers that the clinic experience constant queue each day. The average time spent in the system (𝑊𝑞) per patients is 30minute to 35 minute and the average service time in the system before leaving the clinic was estimated to be between 31minute to 40 minutes each day. The study recommends to the government authority to look into the factors that result in long queue and delay of patients at the OPD unit so as to resolve the increasing rate of queue and delay patients experience in the clinic before being attended to.