Teoría de colas aplicada al estudio del sistema de servicio de una farmacia / Queueing theory applied to the study of the service system of a pharmacy

Con frecuencia las instituciones que brindan servicios deben tomar decisiones respecto al caudal de clientes que reciben, así como la capacidad de servicio con que cuentan. Sin embargo, a diario se presenta un fenómeno común y cotidiano: las colas o líneas de espera, las que se generan cuando la demanda excede a la oferta. En este contexto aparece la teoría de colas, la cual no resuelve el problema, pero ofrece información para tomar decisiones, sobre la base de la predicción de algunas características sobre la cola y el sistema de servicio. Un escenario evidente en el sector salud, donde se generan constantemente líneas de espera son las farmacias. En la Farmacia Hospitalaria Principal de Santiago de Cuba, se modeló la venta de medicamentos desde este enfoque, al no contar con otras herramientas que con su aplicación apoyaran la toma de decisiones. Por ello el objetivo del trabajo es determinar desde el enfoque de la teoría de colas, las variables y medidas de rendimiento del sistema de servicio de dicha Farmacia, para la toma de decisiones a corto y mediano plazo, en función de ofrecer un mayor y mejor servicio. Como resultado se determinó que, para el sistema de servicio actual, existe una alta probabilidad de que se generen colas, y que los clientes permanezcan en ella por más de 5 minutos; recomendando garantizar la disponibilidad de los dependientes, reducir el número de clientes en la cola, hacer más amena la estancia en ella, así como valorar y evaluar su rediseño(AU)

Often the institutions that provide services must make decisions regarding the number of clients they receive, as well as the service capacity they have. However, there is a daily and everyday phenomenon: queues or waiting lines, which are generated when demand exceeds supply. In this context, queueing theory appears, which does not solve the problem, but provides information needed to make decisions, based on the prediction of some characteristics about the queue and the service system. A clear context in the health branch, where there are constantly waiting lines are pharmacies. In the Municipal Community Pharmacy of Santiago de Cuba, the sale of medicinal products was modeled from this approach, since there are no other applied tools that support decision making. Therefore, the objective of the work is to determine from the approach of queueing theory, the variables and measures of performance of the service system of the said Pharmacy, for the decision making in the short and medium term, in function of offering a greater and better service. As a result, it was determined that, for the current service system, there is a high probability that queues will be generated, and that customers will stay in it for more than 5 minutes; recommending to guarantee the availability of dependents, reduce the number of clients in the queue, make the stay in it more enjoyable, as well as assess and evaluate its redesign(AU)

Normas, justiça, atribuição e poder: uma revisão e agenda de pesquisa sobre filas de espera / Norms, justice, attribution and power: a revision and research agenda about waiting lines

Partindo do pressuposto de que a fila de espera é um sistema social, são analisados brevemente sua natureza e seus tipos de ocorrência. Quatro temáticas da psicologia social que podem ser usadas para abordar os fenômenos de comportamento envolvidos em filas são analisadas: (a) normas sociais e influência social; (b) justiça, em suas vertentes distributiva, processual e interacional; (c) atribuição de causalidade; (d) relações de poder e de status. Como agenda de pesquisa, são identificadas ainda as lacunas empíricas em cada uma dessas temáticas, considerando a relevância teórica e prática dos problemas relacionados a situações reais de atendimento por filas de espera.

Considering waiting lines as social systems, a short analysis of the nature and types of queues is presented. Four themes of social psychology are used to analyze behavior in waiting lines: (a) social norms and social influence, (b) distributive, procedural and interactional justice, (c) causal attribution, and (d) relations of power and status. Possible topics of research are pointed out in each of these themes, considering the theoretical and applied relevance of problems involving real waiting line situations.