Optimizing Patient Appointment Scheduling in Neurology Clin-ics Using Agile-Based Appointment Management System
Keywords:
Appointment Scheduling, Agile Methodology, Appointment Management, Neurology ClinicsAbstract
Patient appointment management is a critical aspect of neurology clinic operations, especially given the complexity of patient care and the increasing number of patients requiring specialized attention. Capacity and efficiency challenges in scheduling negatively impact patient waiting times and optimal access to care. This research adopts an Agile approach in developing an information technology-based appointment management system to address scheduling issues in neurology clinics. The research methods include a literature study, interviews with relevant parties, patient surveys, system prototype development, and end-user evaluation. The implementation of the Agile-based appointment management system resulted in a significant reduction in patient waiting time and increased patient satisfaction. Data analysis showed that the use of information technology in scheduling improved the efficiency of using clinic resources and minimized the risk of delays in diagnosis and treatment. This study contributes to developing an adaptive and effective appointment management system in neurology clinics. It provides a foundation for developing better systems to improve healthcare quality and patient satisfaction in the long term.
Downloads
References
Beecham, S., Clear, T., Lal, R., & Noll, J. (2021). Do scaling agile frameworks ad-dress global software development risks? An empirical study. Journal of Sys-tems and Software, 171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2020.110823
Bhat, S., Birajdar, G. K., & Patil, M. D. (2023). A comprehensive survey of deep learning algorithms and applications in dental radiograph analysis. In Healthcare Analytics (Vol. 4). Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.health.2023.100282
Charalambous, M., Fischer, A., Potschka, H., Walker, M. C., Raedt, R., Vonck, K., Boon, P., Lohi, H., Löscher, W., Worrell, G., Leeb, T., McEvoy, A., Striano, P., Kluger, G., Galanopoulou, A. S., Volk, H. A., & Bhatti, S. F. M. (2023). Transla-tional veterinary epilepsy: A win-win situation for human and veterinary neu-rology. Veterinary Journal, 293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2023.105956
Demaerschalk, B. M., Coffey, J. D., Lunde, J. J., Speltz, B. L., Oyarzabal, B. A., & Copeland, B. J. (2023). Rationale for Establishing a Digital Health Research Center at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, 1(3), 343–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpdig.2023.06.001
Dingsøyr, T., Nerur, S., Balijepally, V., & Moe, N. B. (2012). A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development. In Journal of Systems and Software (Vol. 85, Issue 6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2012.02.033
Evans, A., Fung, V. S. C., O’Sullivan, J. D., Stell, R., White, R., Williams, D. R., Fem-ia, S., & Onuk, K. (2021). Characteristics of advanced Parkinson’s disease pa-tients seen in movement disorder clinics - Australian results from the cross-sectional OBSERVE study. Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prdoa.2020.100075
Gutierrez, G., Garzas, J., De Lena, M. T. G., & Moguerza, J. M. (2019). Self-Managing: An Empirical Study of the Practice in Agile Teams. IEEE Software, 36(1), 23–27. https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2018.2874324
Hinault, T., D’Argembeau, A., Bowler, D. M., La Corte, V., Desaunay, P., Provasi, J., Platel, H., Tran The, J., Charretier, L., Giersch, A., & Droit-Volet, S. (2023). Time processing in neurological and psychiatric conditions. In Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (Vol. 154). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105430
Kaji, R. (2023). A look at the future—new BoNTs and delivery systems in devel-opment: What it could mean in the clinic. Toxicon, 234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107264
Lewis, A. K., Taylor, N. F., Carney, P. W., Bryson, A., Sethi, M., Ooi, S., Tse, G. T., & Harding, K. E. (2024). Sustainability of an intervention to reduce waiting for access to an epilepsy outpatient clinic. Heliyon, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23346
Lin, A., & Espay, A. J. (2021). Remote delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy to patients with functional neurological disorders: Promise and challenges. In Ep-ilepsy and Behavior Reports (Vol. 16). Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebr.2021.100469
Lin, J. J., Huang, C. H., Chien, Y. S., Hsu, C. H., Chiu, W. T., Wu, C. H., Wang, C. H., & Tsai, M. S. (2023). TIMECARD score: An easily operated prediction model of unfavorable neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with targeted temperature management. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 122(4), 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2022.11.012
Mahdi, S. S., Battineni, G., Khawaja, M., Allana, R., Siddiqui, M. K., & Agha, D. (2023). How does artificial intelligence impact digital healthcare initiatives? A review of AI applications in dental healthcare. In International Journal of In-formation Management Data Insights (Vol. 3, Issue 1). Elsevier B.V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2022.100144
Matías-Guiu, J., Guerrero, M., López-Trigo, J., Montero, J., Ortega, A., Alfonso, V., & De Salas, M. (2010). Assessment of the effi ciency of the clinical management of neuropathic pain in specialist clinics compared to general clinics in neurolo-gy health care Units in Spain (Vol. 25, Issue 4). www.elsevier.es/neurologia
Migliorelli, L., Berardini, D., Cela, K., Coccia, M., Villani, L., Frontoni, E., & Moccia, S. (2023). A store-and-forward cloud-based telemonitoring system for automat-ic assessing dysarthria evolution in neurological diseases from video-recording analysis. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.107194
Miller, M. I., Shih, L. C., & Kolachalama, V. B. (2023). Machine Learning in Clinical Trials: A Primer with Applications to Neurology. Neurotherapeutics, 20(4), 1066–1080. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-023-01384-2
Rangel, I., Palmisciano, P., Vanderhye, V. K., El Ahmadieh, T. Y., Wahood, W., Demaerschalk, B. M., Sands, K. A., O’Carroll, C. B., Krishna, C., Zimmerman, R. S., Chong, B. W., Bendok, B. R., & Turkmani, A. H. (2022). Optimizing Door-to-Groin Puncture Time: The Mayo Clinic Experience. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 6(4), 327–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2022.05.009
Roulet Perez, E. (2023). Precision or narrative medicine? Child neurology needs both! Archives de Pediatrie, 30(6), 415–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arcped.2023.06.007
Vucic, S., Stanley Chen, K. H., Kiernan, M. C., Hallett, M., Benninger, D. H., Di Laz-zaro, V., Rossini, P. M., Benussi, A., Berardelli, A., Currà, A., Krieg, S. M., Lefaucheur, J. P., Long Lo, Y., Macdonell, R. A., Massimini, M., Rosanova, M., Picht, T., Stinear, C. M., Paulus, W., … Chen, R. (2023). Clinical diagnostic utili-ty of transcranial magnetic stimulation in neurological disorders. Updated re-port of an IFCN committee. In Clinical Neurophysiology (Vol. 150, pp. 131–175). Elsevier Ireland Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2023.03.010
Waddell, K. J., Patel, M. S., Wilkinson, J. R., Burke, R. E., Bravata, D. M., Koganti, S., Wood, S., & Morley, J. F. (2023). Deploying Digital Health Technologies for Remote Physical Activity Monitoring of Rural Populations With Chronic Neu-rologic Disease. Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arrct.2022.100250
Wiechmann, D. M., Reichstein, C., Haerting, R. C., Bueechl, J., & Pressl, M. (2022). Agile management to secure competitiveness in times of digital transfor-mation in medium-sized businesses. Procedia Computer Science, 207, 2353–2363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.294
Yakub, F. A., Shah, J., & Sokhi, D. S. (2023). High acceptability, convenience and re-duced carbon emissions of tele-neurology outpatient services at a regional re-ferral centre in Kenya. ENeurologicalSci, 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensci.2023.100484
Yip, S. W., Barch, D. M., Chase, H. W., Flagel, S., Huys, Q. J. M., Konova, A. B., Montague, R., & Paulus, M. (2023). From Computation to Clinic. In Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science (Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 319–328). Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.03.011
