New algorithm reduces patient wait times, minimizes costs associated with exam delays
The first known study to explore optimal outpatient exam scheduling given the flexibility of inpatient exams has resulted in shorter wait times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) patients at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Mass.
A team of researchers from Dartmouth Engineering and Philips worked to identify sources of delays for MRI procedures at Lahey Hospital in order to optimize scheduling and reduce overall costs for the hospital by 23 percent.
The Dartmouth-led study, "Stochastic programming for outpatient scheduling with flexible inpatient exam accommodation," was sponsored by Philips and recently published by