Simulation modelling of hospital outpatient department: a review of the literature and bibliometric analysis

The increase in demand for outpatient departments (OPDs) has contributed to overcrowded clinics and patient dissatisfaction. Computer simulation can help decision-makers meet the operational challenge of balancing the demand for outpatient services with considerations of available capacity. The paper presents a synthesis of the literature on simulation modeling in OPD using two approaches: a bibliometric analysis (employing keyword co-occurrence network) and a literature classification focusing on OPD strategy, OPD performance measures, and simulation techniques. Our review is based on 161 papers, published between 2006 and 2020, identified through a methodological search of the literature. The objective of the review is threefold: (1) to identify the major and emerging research issues in general and specialized OPD, (2) to find the commonly used performance measures in OPD and how it is associated with the strategies used to improve the performance, and (3) to identify the commonly used simulation methods for OPD modeling. A key finding from the bibliometric analysis is that most OPD research can be classified under one of the four clusters—“organization and management,”“patient satisfaction,”“overbooking,” and “performance.” We also find that patient waiting time has received much attention among the performance measures reported in the literature, followed by server idle time/overtime (server here is the OPD consultant or other healthcare resource). Our review serves as a key reference point for scholars, practitioners, students, and healthcare stakeholders, and those who use quantitative tools to aid operational decision-making.