Capacity planning and appointment scheduling for new patient oncology consults

Xiang Ma (), Antoine Sauré (), Martin L. Puterman (), Marianne Taylor () and Scott Tyldesley ()
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Xiang Ma: British Columbia Cancer Agency
Antoine Sauré: University of British Columbia
Martin L. Puterman: University of British Columbia
Marianne Taylor: British Columbia Cancer Agency
Scott Tyldesley: British Columbia Cancer Agency

Health Care Management Science, 2016, vol. 19, issue 4, No 5, 347-361

Abstract: Abstract To ensure that patients receive timely access to care, it has become increasingly important to use existing care provider capacity as efficiently as possible and to make informed capacity planning decisions. To support this decision-making process at a regional cancer center in British Columbia (Canada), we undertook a simulation and optimization based study that investigated the simultaneous impact of the available number of new patient consultation slots, appointment scheduling policies and oncologist specialization configurations on the timeliness of patient access to care and physician workload. The key contribution of this paper is the methodological framework it provides to decision makers who manage specialty clinics to ensure that they are using their resources efficiently and making informed strategic short- and mid-term capacity planning decisions for new patient demand.

Keywords: Health care operations; Cancer care; Capacity planning; Patient appointment scheduling; Simulation; Mixed integer programming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10729-015-9331-5

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