Integrated Simulation Tool to Analyze Patient Access to and Flow During Colonoscopy Appointments

Abstract

Colonoscopy procedures are key to reducing colorectal cancer incidence and improving outcomes. For this reason, it is important that clinics be designed to maximize access to care and to use clinic time effectively. This paper presents a simulation tool that analyzes different scheduling policies to see how they impact overall clinic operations. By simultaneously simulating both scheduling and operations, the tool can account for more variability and better predict actual outcomes. This tool can be used to inform clinics on what scheduling policies work best for their clinic and help analyze what the trade-offs will be between different policies.