Reference no: EM132225677

A health clinic in Waldorf, MD, is staffed by two receptionists, five nurses, and three physicians. While actual patient experience during a visit to the clinic may vary, assume that the process described below is typical:

Upon arrival at the clinic one of the receptionists welcomes the patient, verifies insurance information, and collects required payment which takes about four minutes. The patient is then asked to take a seat in the waiting room. After about 11 minutes, one of the nurses leads the patient to an examination room, verifies and updates patient information, and takes temperature and blood pressure which takes about 12 minutes on average. After about 9 minutes, the physician comes in and spends an average of about 10 minutes examining and consulting the patient. The nurse returns with paperwork for prescription and a summary of the visit which takes about 2 minutes. The patient is then directed back to the receptionists to make follow-up appointment which takes about 3 minutes.

A. Which staff resource is the bottleneck and what is the capacity of the process?

B. What is the throughput time of a typical patient visit?

C. How many patients will be in the clinic if an average of 12 patients arrive at the clinic per hour?

D. Suppose each receptionist is paid $15/hour, the nurses are paid $25/hour each, and physicians are paid $85/hour each. In addition, assume fringe benefits costs about 20% of direct labor cost. What is the average cost of labor and fringe benefits per patient for the clinic if 12 patients are served per hour?

E. What will be the average cost of labor and fringe benefits per hour for the clinic operates at full capacity?