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.