RFID-based information visibility for hospital operations: exploring its positive effects using discrete event simulation

Long queues and wait times often occur at hospitals and affect smooth delivery of health services. To improve hospital operations, prior studies have developed scheduling techniques to minimize patient wait times. However, these studies lack in demonstrating how such techniques respond to real-time information needs of hospitals and efficiently manage wait times. This article presents a multi-method study on the positive impact of providing real-time scheduling information to patients using the RFID technology. Using a simulation methodology, we present a generic scenario, which can be mapped to real-life situations, where patients can select the order of laboratory services. The study shows that information visibility offered by RFID technology results in decreased wait times and improves resource utilization. We also discuss the applicability of the results based on field interviews granted by hospital clinicians and administrators on the perceived barriers and benefits of an RFID system.

[1]  Mehdi Amini,et al.  Simulation Modeling and Analysis: A Collateral Application and Exposition of RFID Technology , 2007 .

[2]  Wei Zhou,et al.  RFID and item-level information visibility , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[3]  N. Bailey A Study of Queues and Appointment Systems in Hospital Out‐Patient Departments, with Special Reference to Waiting‐Times , 1952 .

[4]  Hulya Julie Yazici,et al.  An exploratory analysis of hospital perspectives on real time information requirements and perceived benefits of RFID technology for future adoption , 2014, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[5]  Soemon Takakuwa,et al.  Simulation analysis of appointment scheduling in an outpatient department of internal medicine , 2005, Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, 2005..

[6]  Nicholas Dew,et al.  When is RFID right for your service , 2010 .

[7]  Keith S. Decker,et al.  Coordinated hospital patient scheduling , 1998, Proceedings International Conference on Multi Agent Systems (Cat. No.98EX160).

[8]  Syi Su,et al.  Managing a mixed-registration-type appointment system in outpatient clinics , 2003, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[9]  Sim Kim Lau,et al.  A hospital based dynamic platform workflow management , 2009 .

[10]  Nir Menachemi,et al.  Best of breed strategies--hospital characteristics associated with organizational HIT strategy. , 2009, Journal of healthcare information management : JHIM.

[11]  Wen-Shan Lin,et al.  Using simulation technique and genetic algorithm to improve the quality care of a hospital emergency department , 2007, Expert Syst. Appl..

[12]  Soemon Takakuwa,et al.  Functional analysis for operating emergency department of a general hospital , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[13]  F Huarng,et al.  Using simulation in out-patient queues: a case study. , 1996, International journal of health care quality assurance.

[14]  Long Gao,et al.  Service Performance Analysis and Improvement for a Ticket Queue with Balking Customers , 2007, Manag. Sci..

[15]  Norman T. J. Baii A STUDY OF QUEUES AND APPOINTMENT SYSTEMS IN HOSPITAL OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENTS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WAITING-TIMES , 1952 .

[16]  Emre A. Veral,et al.  OUTPATIENT SCHEDULING IN HEALTH CARE: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE , 2003 .

[17]  Ron Weinstein,et al.  RFID: a technical overview and its application to the enterprise , 2005, IT Professional.

[18]  Peter J Pronovost,et al.  Simulation in the Executive Suite: Lessons Learned for Building Patient Safety Leadership , 2015, Simulation in healthcare : journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

[19]  M. J. Hall,et al.  National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2007 outpatient department summary. , 2010, National health statistics reports.

[20]  E. Myers,et al.  How Obamacare Will Impact Reproductive Health , 2013, Seminars in Reproductive Medicine.

[21]  D. Delen,et al.  RFID for Better Supply‐Chain Management through Enhanced Information Visibility , 2007 .

[22]  Jeffrey A. Joines,et al.  Simulation Modeling with Simio - A Workbook , 2010 .

[23]  Alberto Coustasse,et al.  Impact of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies on the hospital supply chain: a literature review. , 2013, Perspectives in health information management.

[24]  Rajiv Khosla,et al.  RFID-based Hospital Real-time Patient Management System , 2007, 6th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Computer and Information Science (ICIS 2007).

[25]  Jane Ogden,et al.  "I want more time with my doctor": a quantitative study of time and the consultation. , 2004, Family practice.

[26]  Torin Monahan,et al.  Evaluation of real-time location systems in their hospital contexts , 2012, Int. J. Medical Informatics.

[27]  R. Fetter,et al.  Patients' waiting time and doctors' idle time in the outpatient setting. , 1966, Health services research.

[28]  M. Brahimi,et al.  Queueing Models for Out-Patient Appointment Systems — a Case Study , 1991 .

[29]  Thomas R Rohleder,et al.  Rolling Horizon Appointment Scheduling: A Simulation Study , 2002, Health care management science.

[30]  Samuel C. Yang,et al.  Leveraging RFID in hospitals: Patient life cycle and mobility perspectives , 2007, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[31]  R. Resar,et al.  Patient Flow in Hospitals: Understanding and Controlling It Better , 2004, Frontiers of Health Services Management.

[32]  H. Raghav Rao,et al.  A Simulation Based Study in a Hospital Emergency Department: Capacity and Workflow Issues , 2009, AMCIS.

[33]  David C. Wyld RuBee: applying low‐frequency technology for retail and medical uses , 2008 .