Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
6-1-1978
Abstract
This paper discusses an Index developed and used to measure accessibility to health services provided on an outpatient basis at the Kaiser Community Health Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio. The Index is based on four levels of urgency or severity of illness and on the waiting times to get entry into the system. The parameters of the Index, initially established by task force members, were tested on a sample basis against the judgments of Kaiser outpatient facility users and finally refined through the consensus-seeking Delphi technique using a panel representing Kaiser members, gatekeepers, physicians and administrators. The actual time required to gain accessibility in the various process stages and in the various departments were obtained through simulated requests for appointments, by monitoring telephone calls to the various gatekeeping stations, by direct observations, and by the use of a telephone traffic computer. The paper discusses the Index developed, the data collection methodologies, and the data analyses performed.
Keywords
Operations research, Health services accessibility, Hospitals--Outpatient services, Delphi method, Health services administration, Medical appointments and schedules
Publication Title
Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 430
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Simon, Howard; Reisman, Arnold; Javad, Shahriar; and Sachs, Diane Lurie, "An Index of Accessibility for Ambulatory Health Services" (1978). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 244.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/244