Operations management solutions for outpatients at ASST Nord Milano: Techniques and tools for queue management

The outpatient pathway is one of the most important pipelines for healthcare providers and represents the first point of contact between citizens and healthcare services. Therefore, healthcare organizations need to ensure a patient experience that aims to reduce waiting times andmaximize the value-added time for the user. This research aims to identify organizational and logistics solutions to reduce queues at the central front office for admission, payment, and booking of the Bassini Hospital at ASST Nord Milano, applying the principles and analyses defined by the queuing theory.The methodology was a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Specifically, a statistical model was developed to identify the optimal number of front office operators for each hour to minimize users’ waiting time. The results obtained can be quantified as a 45% reduction in the average waiting time at the Bassini Hospital front office. This result has been achieved through a number of operational solutions such as the reorganization of the activities along the different time slots, the definition and dissemination of procedures to front office staff, and a series of initiatives aimed at raising awareness and trainingoperators at all level.

Keywords: Hospital; healthcare organization; front office; Patient flow logistics; outpatient; queuing theory; waiting time

Noemi Danzo, Bernardo Provvedi, Clara Carbone, Anna Prenestini, Soluzioni di operations management per il percorso ambulatoriale dell’ASST Nord Milano: tecniche e strumenti per la gestione delle code al CUP in "MECOSAN" 132/2024, pp 29-54, DOI: 10.3280/mesa2024-132oa20677