Optimization of Queue Management to Improve Patient Wait Times at the HRDCQ DAC-Huancayo Outpatient Clinic

Valle N.A.C.; Baldeon A.P.G.; Castillo R.A.C. · 2026 18th International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation, ICCMS 2026 (2026) · DOI: 10.1109/iccms69991.2026.11642750

Resumen

The objective of this research is to optimize queue management at the Daniel Alcides Carrión Regional Teaching Clinical Surgical Hospital (HRDCQ DAC) in Huancayo, with the aim of improving wait times in the outpatient clinic. Currently, the system faces significant challenges due to high patient demand and a shortage of medical staff. The study was based on queuing theory and the application of Arena software to simulate and compare different operational scenarios. This methodology allowed for the identification of the main problems in customer service and the evaluation of proposed improvements. In the current situation, the average queue time was 49.72 minutes (2,983.26 seconds), with an average size of 31 people and an abandonment rate of 42.15%, reflecting high congestion and a significant level of dissatisfaction. With improvement 1, which consisted of standardizing six service windows from the start of the day, the average queuing time was reduced to 30.78 minutes, the average queue size to 20 people, and the abandonment rate to 33.32%, increasing the number of patients served from 278 to 321, equivalent to an increase of 15.5%. Finally, improvement 2, based on the redistribution of slots by groups of medical specialties, reduced the average queuing time to 27.45 minutes, the dropout rate to 5.63%, and allowed 452 patients to be attended to, which represents an increase of 62.6% compared to the initial scenario, keeping the attention time constant at 142.45 seconds per patient. These results show a total reduction of 44.8% in waiting time, a decrease of 86.6% in the dropout rate, and a notable increase in care capacity, demonstrating that the application of simulation and queuing theory constitutes an effective tool to improve operational efficiency and service quality in high-demand hospital environments.

Instituciones: Universidad Continental