The manager at a large hospital emergency room faces a problem of providing treatment for patients that arrive at different rates during the day. There are 4 doctors available to treat patients when needed. If not needed, they can be assigned to other responsibilities (for example, lab tests, reports, x-ray diagnoses) or else rescheduled to work at other hours. It is important to provide quick and responsive treatment, and the manager feels that, on the average, patients should not have to sit in the waiting area for more than 5 minutes before being seen by a doctor. Patients are treated on a first-come, first-served basis and see the first available doctor after waiting in the queue. The arrival pattern is:
9 A.M. - 3 P.M: 7 patients/hour
3 P.M. - 8 P.M: 4 patients/hour
8 P.M. - Midnight: 13 patients/hour
These arrivals follow a Poisson distribution, and treatment times, 12 minutes on the average, follow the exponential pattern. How many doctors should be on duty during each period in order to maintain the level of patient care expected?