Queuing Theory

# Queuing Theory  
Here's todays improvement question

An improvement team is performing an analysis on patient wait times in a specialty clinic with multiple clinics using the same waiting area. Which type of queue is in place in this environment?
 

1. Single Server – Single Queue
2. Service facilities in a series
3. Several Servers – Several Queues
4. Several Parallel Servers – Single Queue
    
   Answer: B – In this environment the queue type would be service facilities in a series. In this type of queue a customer enters the first station and gets a portion of service and then moves on to the next station, gets some service and then again moves on to the next station and finally leaves the system, having received the complete service. An example of this flow would be check in, blood lab or urinalysis, see the specialist, radiology imagery, patient leaves.