Open AccessThe Influence of the Scheduling Horizon on New Patient Arrivals
Author(s) -
Elizabeth Woodcock,
Donny Nokes,
Haley E. Bolton,
Daniel Bartholomew,
Elizabeth I. Johnson,
Ahmed F. Shakarchi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of ambulatory care management/journal of ambulatory care management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.639
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1550-3267
pISSN - 0148-9917
DOI - 10.1097/jac.0000000000000334
Subject(s) - scheduling (production processes) , time horizon , ambulatory , health care , specialty , computer science , operations management , operations research , business , medicine , economics , engineering , family medicine , finance , surgery , economic growth
The goal of scheduling within an ambulatory enterprise is to appropriately accommodate patients; extending capacity to fulfill this aim in a large health care organization requires the management of a complex scheduling process. Understanding and handling the appointment lead time, referred to as the scheduling horizon, can positively influence capacity management. The analysis demonstrated an increased chance of nonarrived appointments of 16% for a specialty practice and 11% for a primary care practice for every 30-day delay in the scheduling horizon. By incorporating the management of the scheduling horizon, health care organizations can optimize the capacity of their ambulatory clinics.