Page 261 - Data Science Algorithms in a Week

The Utilization of Case-Based Reasoning 243

Patients interarrival times in minutes (Maximum of Each day)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Exponential Exponential
Exponential (7) Exponential (10) Exponential (10)
(9.5) (10)

Patients arrival rates
(patients/hour) Service times in minutes
Time Rate
12 am- 1 am 5 Triage Registration Lab tests
Triangular (30,
1 am – 2 am 4 Poisson (6) Triangular (3, 5, 7)
45, 60)
2 am – 3 am 3
3 am – 4 am 3 1st Assessment
4 am – 5 am 2 Code 3 patients Code 4 patients Code 5 patients
Triangular (25, 30, Triangular (25,
5 am – 6 am 2 Triangular (25, 30, 40)
40) 30, 40)
6 am – 7 am 3
7 am – 8 am 5 2nd Assessment
8 am – 9 am 6 Code 3 patients Code 4 patients Code 5 patients
Triangular (10, 12, Triangular (6,
9 am – 10 am 7 Triangular (8, 10, 12)
15) 7.5, 9)
10 am – 11 am 7
11 am – 12 pm 8
12 pm- 1 pm 9
1 pm – 2 pm 8
2 pm – 3 pm 8
3 pm – 4 pm 7
4 pm – 5 pm 8
5 pm – 6 pm 9
6 pm – 7 pm 9
7 pm – 8 pm 10
8 pm – 9 pm 9
9 pm – 10 am 8
10 pm – 11 pm 7
11 pm – 12 am 6
Figure 7. Data of the ED case study – part 2.

The main objective was to improve the performance of the hospital’s ED (improved
utilization, and minimize time spent by patient) while keeping the same level of the
quality of healthcare services provided.

Define and Analyze the New Case

Patients arriving to the ED will first pick up a number, wait in the waiting area, and
then proceed to the triage station where a nurse assesses the severity of their cases using a
one to five (1 to 5) emergency severity index. Cases coded as 1 or 2 (critical conditions)
are directly admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) to receive the required care, while
cases coded as 3, 4, or 5 proceed to register at the registration desk, and wait for a
physician who is always accompanied by a nurse for the initial assessment. Patients may
be discharged, or are may be asked for some lab tests, where some may be required to
wait for a second assessment where they may either be discharged or admitted to the