Case study:
A hospital emergency room (ER) is currently organized so that all patients register through an initial check-in process. At his or her turn, each patient is seen by a doctor and then exits the process, either with a prescription or with admission to the hospital. Currently, 55 people per hour arrive at the ER, 10% of who are admitted to the hospital. On average, 7 people are waiting to be registered and 34 are registered and waiting to see a doctor. The registration process takes, on average, 2 minutes per patient. Among patients who receive prescriptions, average time spent with a doctor is 5 minutes. Among those admitted to the hospital, average time is 30 minutes.
[Hints: Assume the process is in steady state or stable and (2) map the process first using icons for operations (rectangles), buffers or waiting lines (triangles) and decisions (diamonds)].
a. On average, how long does a patient spend in the ER?
b. On average, how many patients are being examined by doctors?
c. On average, how many patients are there in the ER?