title: Outpatient waiting time in health services and teaching hospitals: a case study in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the most important indexes of the health care quality is patient's satisfaction and it takes place only when there is a process based on management. One of these processes in the health care organizations is the appropriate management of the waiting time process. The aim of this study is the systematic analyzing of the outpatient waiting time.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive cross sectional study conducted in 2011 is an applicable study performed in the educational and health care hospitals of one of the medical universities located in the north west of Iran. Since the distributions of outpatients in all the months were equal, sampling stage was used. 160 outpatients were studied and the data was analyzed by using SPSS software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results of the study showed that the waiting time for the outpatients of ophthalmology clinic with an average of 245 minutes for each patient allocated the maximum time among the other clinics for itself. Orthopedic clinic had the minimal waiting time including an average of 77 minutes per patient. The total average waiting time for each patient in the educational hospitals under this study was about 161 minutes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  by applying some models, we can reduce the waiting time especially in the realm of time and space before the admission to the examination room. Utilizing the models including the one before admission, electronic visit systems via internet, a process model, six sigma model, queuing theory model and FIFO model, are the components of the intervention that reduces the outpatient waiting time.
authors.forename: Rafat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohebbifar
authors.forename: Edris
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hasanpoor
authors.affiliation: Hospital Management Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.. bahareto1367@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohseni
authors.forename: Mobin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sokhanvar
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khosravizadeh
authors.forename: Haleh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mousavi Isfahani
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors