title: Improving out-patient appointment systems.
abstract: The Patient's Charter has recently set the standard for hospital out-patient clinics that patients will "be given a specific appointment time and will be seen within 30 minutes of that time". Describes the successful application of an operational research/operations management approach to out-patient appointment systems at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Draws the conclusion from a comparison of this and other studies that many hospitals face very similar problems with similar solutions; but that localized studies may often be required to achieve these solutions.
authors.affiliation: Lancaster University, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Worthington
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brahimi
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D017748:Time Management; D006113:United Kingdom