A System Dynamics Approach for Streamlining the Report Request Process: a Case Study of a Local Healthcare Provider

Abstract

This project considers the case of a local healthcare provider. The company faces challenges posed by the considerable backlog of report requests. Due to the backlog of requests, the delivery time for reports has significantly increased, despite the relatively short time needed per report fulfillment. In turn, the inability of medical practitioners and managers to get the completed reports in a timely manner might worsen the productivity of the whole company. Moreover, the problem is exacerbated by the constantly growing rate of report requests that results from the addition of new hospitals under the company structure. A System Dynamics model was developed to structure the process of requesting and fulfilling reports. Group model building sessions, semi-structured interviews and data analysis were used to determine the key variables of the system. Hiring more people, naming conventions, knowledge sharing and customers’ education were examined as possible policy options. To compare them was conducted the cost-benefit analysis. Based on the analysis and simulation results, it became clear that hiring more people and customers’ education provide the best outcomes. Thus, it was recommended to implement one of these policy options.