Simulation of Appointment Scheduling Policies: a Study in a Bariatric Clinic.

PURPOSE: Appointment scheduling systems traditionally book patients at fixed intervals, without taking into account the complexity factors of the health system. This paper analyzes several appointment scheduling policies of the literature and proposes the most suitable to a bariatric surgery clinic, considering the following complexity factors: (i) stochastic service times, (ii) patient unpunctuality, (iii) service interruptions, and (iv) patient no-shows. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted the study using data collected in a bariatric surgery clinic located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The dataset presented 1468 appointments from June 29, 2015, to June 29, 2016. We comparatively evaluate the main literature policies through a discrete event simulation (DES). RESULTS: The proposed policy (IICR) provides a 30% increase in attendance and allows a decrease in the total cost, maintaining the level of service in terms of average waiting time. CONCLUSION: IICR was successfully implemented, and the practical results were very close to the simulated ones.