Reducing outpatient waiting time: a case study in Vietnamese private hospital

The outpatient department (OPD) is an essential feature of every hospital network around the globe. It is a complicated system with unique requirements to help patients avoid diseases, ensure speedy recovery without needing to be admitted for overnight care, and assist hospitals in conserving resources. As a result, one of the primary issues is ensuring its quality and client satisfaction. Although there are many factors at play, the goal of this study is to develop a discrete-event simulation model to reduce one of the most significant causes: the OPD's waiting time. The simulation model is based on a real-life case study of an OPD in a Vietnamese hospital where the patients decide the order of paraclinical procedures. Using real data from the hospital, we tested two strategies to improve the patient's decisions so that the waiting time in the system is reduced. Performance analysis and some managerial insights are used to look at how each different patient flow strategy affects the efficiency of the hospital.