A discrete event simulation model to evaluate operational performance of a colonoscopy suite.
OBJECTIVE
Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer death, is preventable with colonoscopic screening. Colonoscopy cost is high, and optimizing resource utilization for colonoscopy is important. This study's aim is to evaluate resource allocation for optimal use of facilities for colonoscopy screening.


METHODS
The authors used data from a computerized colonoscopy database to develop a discrete event simulation model of a colonoscopy suite. Operational configurations were compared by varying the number of endoscopists, procedure rooms, the patient arrival times, and procedure room turnaround time. Performance measures included the number of patients served during the clinic day and utilization of key resources. Further analysis included considering patient waiting time tradeoffs as well as the sensitivity of the system to procedure room turnaround time.


RESULTS
The maximum number of patients served is linearly related to the number of procedure rooms in the colonoscopy suite, with a fixed room to endoscopist ratio. Utilization of intake and recovery resources becomes more efficient as the number of procedure rooms increases, indicating the potential benefits of large colonoscopy suites. Procedure room turnaround time has a significant influence on patient throughput, procedure room utilization, and endoscopist utilization for varying ratios between 1:1 and 2:1 rooms per endoscopist. Finally, changes in the patient arrival schedule can reduce patient waiting time while not requiring a longer clinic day.


CONCLUSIONS
Suite managers should keep a procedure room to endoscopist ratio between 1:1 and 2:1 while considering the utilization of related key resources as a decision factor as well. The sensitivity of the system to processes such as turnaround time should be evaluated before improvement efforts are made.
Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27613, USA.
Bjorn
B
Berg
Brian
B
Denton
Heidi
H
Nelson
Hari
H
Balasubramanian
Ahmed
A
Rahman
Angela
A
Bailey
Keith
K
Lindor
D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D057188:Workflow