@ARTICLE{Saeed_Waleed_Ben_Using_2023,
 author={Saeed, Waleed Ben and Adas, Yasser and Almaimani, Ayad},
 volume={vol. LI},
 journal={Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie},
 pages={339-357},
 howpublished={online},
 year={2023},
 publisher={Oddział PAN w Krakowie},
 abstract={Congestion is a significant problem affecting the operational processes of a hospital’s outpatient department (OPD). Congestion especially affects the OPD’s architectural space, due to the increased number of patients. Recently, digital tools have been used in healthcare systems to reduce congestion and help the OPD improve its operational processes; one of these tools is the virtual examination room. However, patients still need to be examined by physicians in the OPD, and digital tools alone cannot solve all the problems that congestion creates. The authors of this paper conducted a study that offers a new way to alleviate congestion in the OPD by combining physical and digital solutions to increase OPD efficiency and optimize its operational processes. The study created an alternative operational plan that adds virtual examination rooms to reduce congestion. This plan allows the OPD to increase the number of physical and virtual examination rooms by almost 110% and increase the number physically and virtually examined patients by 153% each day. The plan also redesigns some architectural spaces at the OPD to enhance the environment and match the hospital’s requirement for authorized bodies.},
 type={Article},
 title={Using Digital Tools to Improve the Operational Processes in the Architectural Spaces of a Hospital’s Outpatient Department},
 URL={http://czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/130623/2023-TEKA-17.pdf},
 doi={10.24425/tkuia.2023.148982},
 keywords={digitalization, architectural spaces, virtual examination room, outpatient department (OPD), operational plan, efficiency, virtual clinic},
}