Patients often wait weeks or months for medical appointments. When they finally arrive at physicians’ offices, patients often face further delays. This in-office waiting occurs for many reasons. Perhaps those patients arrived early. Perhaps earlier patients put the physicians behind schedule, or urgent calls interrupted them. However, according to a new article by INFORMS member Michael J. Armstrong, professor at Brock University, and his colleagues, sometimes clinics purposely schedule appointments before physicians expect to be ready. They do this to ensure physicians don’t run out of work.
The Conversation, January 21, 2018