title: Process data: a means to measure operational performance and implement advanced analytical models.
abstract: We present the case of an ambulatory clinic in which an operational review was conducted to identify opportunities for efficiency in appointment scheduling and capacity allocation. We required process data to compare that which was planned to that which actually happened and to develop advanced analytical models. Similar to other health care studies, these data proved to be limited or non-existent. Consequently we had to conduct a time-consuming collection of operational metrics. We make recommendations for the perpetual collection of process data for modeling and simulation.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada. psantibanez@bccancer.bc.ca
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santibañez
authors.forename: Vincent S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Martin L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Puterman
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tyldesley
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D008330:Management Audit / Q000379:methods; D017146:Models, Organizational