Application of Queuing Theory in Healthcare
Many problems like these need to be addressed in health services and, Operations Research provides numerous methodologies and techniques to solve them. The operations research model offers a systematic approach to problem solving and allows characterization of activities in an existing system using mathematical modeling, which successfully addresses health system problems such as queuing.
The first analysis of QT was in the context of telephone facilities made by AK Ering in 1913. It is widely used in operations management in the industrial environment or in the retail sector, being part of the field of decision science.
The rising cost of health care can be attributed not only to an aging population and new, expensive, and modern methods of treatment, but also to inefficiencies in the delivery of health services. The use of QT to manage flow in health services is an attempt to reduce costs by minimizing system deficiencies and delays. There are many problems in the healthcare system that can be solved using this theory.
Operations research has been present as a scientific system since the 1930s, with it, it was possible to apply appropriate analytical methods for decision making. Many optimization methods, such as linear and dynamic programming models, allow for quantitative analysis. These mathematical models generally ignore the effects of uncertainty and assume that the outcome of decisions is predictive and diagnostic, which allow us to solve large and complex problems using effective mathematical methods and powerful computational models Cochrane cols. (2006).
A considerable body of research on the topic addressed in this study has demonstrated that QT can be useful in the field of health care. Preater (2001) has compiled a bibliography of queuing applications in healthcare. Also, Noseke et al. (2001), reviewed the use of queuing theory in pharmaceutical applications, with special attention to improving customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is improved by predicting and reducing wait times and staff compliance. Samuel Foumndame cols. (2007) researched the contributions and applications of QT in the field of health care. They summarize several QT findings in the following areas: wait time and utilization analysis, system design, and naming systems. They also considered the results of systems at different scales, including individual departments (or units), health facilities and regional health systems. (Lakshmi, 2013)