Waiting Time and Service Times for Outpatient Services at a Middle-level Private Hospital

Abstract

Waiting time for service reflects the quality of the service and also has an impact on customer satisfaction. This retrospective descriptive study aimed to determine the waiting time and service times for outpatient services at a middle-level private hospital. The data of patients who visit to the hospital in 2021 were retrieved from computer database. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics: percentage, median, and interquartile range (IQR). The findings of the study revealed that 90 out of 15,925 patients (0.57%) had data on time-recorded service time at all service sites. The median waiting time and service times from start to finish was 1 hour 7 minutes 43 seconds (IQR 41 minutes 28 seconds – 1 hour 45 minutes 23 seconds). The fourth service site, visiting the physician and had additional laboratory test took the longest median service times, which was 28 minutes (IQR 7 minutes 28 seconds – 41 minutes 18 seconds). And the second service site, the history taking, had the shortest median waiting time and service times of 2 minutes 40 seconds (IQR 58 seconds - 8 minutes 7 seconds). Waiting time and service times for physician visits and additional laboratory tests, as well as at the cashier and pharmacy, were all within the hospital’s Key Performance Indicator (KPI). In the future, waiting time should be recorded separately from service times in order to retrieve information that accurately represents actual waiting time.