Simulation based lean six sigma approach to reduce patients waiting time in an outpatient eye clinic

Abstract

This paper describes a simulation based lean six sigma approach to improve the operations in an outpatient eye clinic in Singapore. The concept of the simulation based lean six sigma approach and its application into healthcare industry are examined and illustrated using an example of outpatient eye clinic. The six sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) phases are adopted to identify opportunities for improvements based on lean tools like Value Stream Mapping. A simulation model is then built for study the systems stochastic behavior during the improvement phase. The experiments based on our model and hypothesis tests are conducted with positive results, showing that the redesigned appointment system is able to reduce patients waiting time by 23.7% in average.