Abstract
To ensure that patients receive timely access to care, it has become increasingly important to use existing care provider capacity as efficiently as possible and to make informed capacity planning decisions. To support this decision-making process at a regional cancer center in British Columbia (Canada), we undertook a simulation and optimization based study that investigated the simultaneous impact of the available number of new patient consultation slots, appointment scheduling policies and oncologist specialization configurations on the timeliness of patient access to care and physician workload. The key contribution of this paper is the methodological framework it provides to decision makers who manage specialty clinics to ensure that they are using their resources efficiently and making informed strategic short- and mid-term capacity planning decisions for new patient demand.
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Notes
Java package umontreal.iro.lecuyer.rng and Java class cern.jet.random.engine.DRand, respectively.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this project was provided by the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [Grant RGPIN 5527] and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [Grant AQC-83512]. We thank all the administrators, physicians and clerks at BCCA’s Centre for the Southern Interior for their involvement in this project. In particular, we are grateful of the valuable insights provided by John Larmet, Dr. Greg Dueck and John French. We also wish to thank Leah Weber and Emma Liu for the many helpful comments and assistance in this study.
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Ma, X., Sauré, A., Puterman, M.L. et al. Capacity planning and appointment scheduling for new patient oncology consults. Health Care Manag Sci 19, 347–361 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-015-9331-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-015-9331-5