title: Application of Queueing Theory to the Analysis of Changes in Outpatients' Waiting Times in Hospitals Introducing EMR.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This research used queueing theory to analyze changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  We focused on the exact drawing of two fundamental parameters for queueing analysis, arrival rate (λ) and service rate (µ), from digital data to apply queueing theory to the analysis of outpatients' waiting times. We used outpatients' reception times and consultation finish times to calculate the arrival and service rates, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using queueing theory, we could calculate waiting time excluding distorted values from the digital data and distortion factors, such as arrival before the hospital open time, which occurs frequently in the initial stage of a queueing system. We analyzed changes in outpatients' waiting times before and after the introduction of EMR using the methodology proposed in this paper, and found that the outpatients' waiting time decreases after the introduction of EMR. More specifically, the outpatients' waiting times in the target public hospitals have decreased by rates in the range between 44% and 78%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is possible to analyze waiting times while minimizing input errors and limitations influencing consultation procedures if we use digital data and apply the queueing theory. Our results verify that the introduction of EMR contributes to the improvement of patient services by decreasing outpatients' waiting time, or by increasing efficiency. It is also expected that our methodology or its expansion could contribute to the improvement of hospital service by assisting the identification and resolution of bottlenecks in the outpatient consultation process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Administration, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Administration, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Moon
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.affiliation: Division of Business Administration, Yonsei University Wonju Campus, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Uk
authors.initials: YU
authors.lastname: Song
keywords: Electronic Medical Record; Healthcare; Queue; Waiting Time