Introduction
FloInsights Simulator (FloSim) continues to enhance healthcare operations through advanced simulation technologies and deep industry insights. This innovative tool allows FloInsights to transform clinic operations remotely, requiring minimal inputs like a floorplan, patient pathways, and staffing details.
After our recent successful engagement, where we identified changes that would increase patient capacity by 46.15% and nearly halve the average visit time, we set upon a new project with a second clinic. Here, our focus was on improving the patient experience (i.e. by reducing wait times) and enhancing overall clinic capacity. By deploying FloSim, we achieved our goals – cutting initial wait times by an impressive 96.49% and boosting clinic throughput by approximately 20 – 30%. This blog post explores the unique challenges of this clinic, the tailored solutions we implemented, and the profound impacts of these changes.
Figure 1: Using our Simulator as a Digital Twin for an Ophthalmology Clinic, we were able to reduce the patients’ wait time by 96.49% and reduce the length of patient journey by 27.74%.
Simulator
Overview of the Process
Our collaboration involved a multi-step process designed to ensure the simulations were both accurate and practical. This approach not only helped us pinpoint operational inefficiencies but also allowed us to test potential improvements in a controlled environment. The diagram below illustrates the overall methodology:
Base Scenario
The clinic operates with 3 doctors and 4 technicians. The doctors can perform examinations and injections, while technicians are equipped to handle Pre-Exam tests including OCT, IOP, visual field, and refraction. Patients typically navigate through multiple pathways, which allows for tailored treatment approaches depending on individual patient needs. The pathways are shown below:
- Pre-Exam → Injection
- Pre-Exam → Exam
- Exam
During the information collection phase, FloInsights identified that the clinic handles around 30 patients in a four-hour session. Given that the Pre-Exam step is a common element in many patients’ treatment pathways, we zeroed in on this phase for a closer look. Our initial findings pinpointed the Pre-Exam as a major bottleneck, seriously limiting the clinic’s ability to manage patient flow efficiently. The graphs below illustrate this clearly. For instance, the room usage time hovers around 85% (see Figure 2), indicating that there’s hardly any downtime for accommodating additional patients. Moreover, as shown in Figure 3, the waiting times are not only high on average but also highly variable, sometimes even hitting the 60-minute mark.
Figure 2: Pie chart showing the utilisation of the Pre-Exam room. The figure shows that it is working at close to full capacity indicating the presence of a bottleneck.
Figure 3: Histogram showing a distribution of the initial wait times. The average waiting time for the first step of the pathway is close to 30 minutes, with some wait times reaching an hour.
Proposed Changes
In order to optimise clinic performance and increase capacity, we decided to implement the following strategic changes:
- Separation of OCT Testing: Moving the OCT test equipment from the general Pre-Exam area to a dedicated location. This reorganisation was targeted to reduce congestion at the Pre-Exam stage, thereby decreasing wait times and improving the overall patient experience.
- Change to the pathways: Due to the OCT step being required only when performing Injection, we have adjusted the pathways that the clients take to adjust to the above change. Proposed pathways:
- OCT → Injection
- Pre-Exam → Exam
- Exam
Impact of the changes
The restructured approach to OCT testing proved highly effective and we have observed:
- Reduction in Wait Times: The separation of the OCT test significantly reduced initial wait times by 96%, demonstrating a dramatic improvement in patient flow and potential satisfaction.
- Increased Clinic Capacity: This more efficient handling of the Pre-Exam step allowed the clinic to increase its capacity, managing a larger volume of patients more effectively than in previous setups. The estimated increase is in the range of 20 – 30%.
To back up these claims, let’s dive into the graphs below. These can be directly compared with those from the base scenario section. Figure 5 highlights the newfound availability in the Pre-Exam area. After relocating the OCT equipment, the percentage of time that the room is occupied has dropped dramatically from 85% to approximately 43%, effectively freeing up a significant amount of capacity.
Figure 5: Pie chart showing the utilisation split of the Pre-Exam step after introducing a separate OCT step in the clinic.
Additionally, while the initial wait times were approaching an hour mark in some cases, the proposed changes were able to completely remove the issue and decrease the average waiting time to just 1 minute.
Figure 6: Histogram showing the initial wait times after implementing the proposed change.
When one bottleneck is resolved, attention often shifts to the next. After effectively eliminating delays in the Pre-Exam step, we observed that the Exam and Injection steps have now become the limiting factors. These stages are not currently optimised to handle the increased flow of patients smoothly and will require further analysis and adjustments to continue enhancing the clinic’s overall patient journey times. Despite these new challenges, the modifications have led to a notable reduction in the average journey time. Originally, patients spent about 58 minutes in the clinic, but thanks to our interventions, this has been significantly reduced — patients now complete their visits in roughly 42 minutes on average, as shown in the graph below.
Figure 7: Histogram of overall patient journey times in the base scenario (above), and proposed scenario (below). The result of the changes is a smaller variation and a smaller average journey time.
Conclusion and Future work
Our latest application of FloSim has once again demonstrated its efficacy, this time by achieving a remarkable 96% reduction in patient wait times and expanding clinic capacity. By isolating and addressing specific bottlenecks such as the OCT testing in the Pre-Exam phase, we achieved significant improvements in both patient wait times and clinic throughput, highlighting the effectiveness of pinpoint interventions in critical areas of clinic operations and impact of FloSim simulations in optimising healthcare processes.
Looking ahead, we are committed to continuing our close collaboration with the clinic to ensure that the improvements we’ve implemented deliver sustained benefits and adapt seamlessly to evolving operational demands. Our ongoing development of FloSim is driven by the valuable insights gained from its healthcare applications, and we are eager to explore how this technology can be adapted for other industries where efficiency and throughput are critical.
If you’re interested in seeing how FloInsights can revolutionise operations in your sector, or if you’re considering partnership opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@floinsights.com. Let’s work together to find innovative solutions that optimise patient flow and expand clinic capacity, ultimately enhancing outcomes of your operations. We can identify and implement strategies that not only streamline patient journeys but also maximise the efficiency of your clinic’s resources, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for both patients and healthcare professionals.