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.

Predicting Patient No-show Behavior: a Study in a Bariatric Clinic.

Purpose: No-shows of patients to their scheduled appointments have a significant impact on healthcare systems, including lower clinical efficiency and higher costs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors associated with patient no-shows in a bariatric surgery clinic.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 13,230 records for 2660 patients in a clinic located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over a 17-month period (January 2015-May 2016).