Appointment scheduling with customer impatience based on operating cost model

An appointment scheduling problem is studied with the consideration of customer impatience.On the assumption that both the time of leaving queue and the time of service are exponentially distributed,in order to minimize the joint cost,the optimal appointment schedule of the fixed number of customers is studied.The joint cost function is composed of customers expected delay time and service availability time.The expected delay time of each customer in the queue is recursively computed in terms of customer interarrival time.Furthermore,the effect of impatience on the optimal schedule as well as the total operating cost is studied.The results show that as the impatience rate increases,the optimal interarrival time becomes shorter and the interarrival time of the last few customers gradually approaches that of the customers in the middle.In addition,impatient behaviors can increase the joint cost.

Machine learning-based prediction models for patients no-show in online outpatient appointments

With the development of information and communication technologies,all public tertiary hospitals in China began to use online outpatient appointment systems.However,the phenomenon of patient no-shows in online outpatient appointments is becoming more serious.The objective of this study is to design a prediction model for patient no-shows,thereby assisting hospitals in making relevant decisions,and reducing the probability of patient no-show behavior.We used 382,004 original online outpatient appointment records,and divided the data set into a training set(N_(1)=286,503),and a validation set(N_(2)=95,501).We used machine learning algorithms such as logistic regression,k-nearest neighbor(KNN),boosting,decision tree(DT),random forest(RF)and bagging to design prediction models for patient no-show in online outpatient appointments.The patient no-show rate of online outpatient appointment was 11.1%(N=42,224).From the validation set,bagging had the highest area under the ROC curve and AUC value,which was 0.990,followed by random forest and boosting models,which were 0.987 and 0.976,respectively.In contrast,compared with the previous prediction models,the area under ROC and AUC values of the logistic regression,decision tree,and k-nearest neighbors were lower at 0.597,0.499 and 0.843,respectively.This study demonstrates the possibility of using data from multiple sources to predict patient no-shows.The prediction model results can provide decision basis for hospitals to reduce medical resource waste,develop effective outpatient appointment policies,and optimize operations.

Design and Implementation of Clinic Appointment Registration System

Clinic Appointment Registration System is an important way to see a doctor, and it’s also a preliminary tool for storage and management of clinic medical records. This new system was developed using Visual Studio 2008 and C#.NET as the development environment and tools and Microsoft Access 2003 as the database to store the medical data based on Browse/Server (B/S) model. The system consists of several data operation functions including appointment registration, data management (e.g. addition, deletion and searching), data backup and recovery, etc., thus, achieve key research ob-jectives.

Appointment of Dr. Xue-Long JIANG as the Associate Editor-in-Chief of Zoological Research

We are very pleased to announce that we have invited Dr. Xue-Long JIANG to serve as the Associate Editor-in-Chief for Zoological Research （ZR）, effective from 1 March, 2016. Dr. JIANG, Professor and principle investigator from the Laboratory of Mammal Ecology and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has worked with ZR since 2006 as a member of the editorial board and has played an active and important role in maintaining ZR as a respected academic publishing platform. Currently, he also works as the Associate Editor-in-Chief of Acta Thefiologica Sinica, Mammal Research and as a senior editorial board member of Biodiversity Science.

Appointment of Dr. Wai-Yee Chan as the Associate Editor-in-Chief of Zoological Research

We are very pleased to announce that we have invited Dr. Wai-Yee Chan, Professor and Director of School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, to serve as the Associate Editor- in-Chief for Zoological Research （ZR）, effective 1 September, 2016.

Quantum Algorithm for Appointment Scheduling

Suppose a practical scene that when two or more parties want to schedule anappointment, they need to share their calendars with each other in order to make itpossible. According to the present result the whole communication cost to solve thisproblem should be their calendars’ length by using a classical algorithm. In this work, weinvestigate the appointment schedule issue made by N users and try to accomplish it inquantum information case. Our study shows that the total communication cost will bequadratic times smaller than the conventional case if we apply a quantum algorithm in theappointment-scheduling problem.

The impact of out-of-pocket expenditures on missed appointments at HIV r care and treatment centers in Northern Tanzania

Background:Missed clinic appointments negatively impact clinic patient flow and health outcomes of people living with HIV(PLHIV).PLHIV likelihood of missing clinic appointments is associated with direct and indirect expenditures made while accessing HIV care.The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between out-of-pocket(OOP)health expenditures and the likelihood of missing appointments.Method:Totally 618 PLHIV older than 18 years attending two HIV care and treatment centres(CTC)in Northern Tanzania were enrolled in the study.Clinic attendance and clinical characteristics were abstracted from medical records.Information on OOP health expenditures,demographics,and socio-economic factors were self-reported by the participants.We used a hurdle model.The first part of the hurdle model assessed the marginal effect of a one Tanzanian Shillings(TZS)increase in OOP health expenditure on the probability of having a missed appointment and the second part assessed the probability of having missed appointments for those who had missed an appointment over the study period.Results:Among these 618 participants,242(39%)had at least one missed clinic appointment in the past year.OOP expenditure was not significantly associated with the number of missed clinic appointments.The median amount of OOP paid was 5100 TZS per visit,about 7%of the median monthly income.Participants who were separated from their partners(adjusted odds ratio[AOR]=1.83,95%confidence interval[CZ]:1.11-8.03)and those aged above 50 years(AOR=2.85,95%CI:1.01-8.03)were significantly associated with missing an appointment.For those who had at least one missed appointment over the study period,the probability of missing a clinic appointment was significantly associated with seeking care in a public CTC(P=0.49,95%CI:0.88-0.09)and aged between>25-35 years(P=0.90,95%CI:0.11-1.69).Conclusion:Interventions focused on improving compliance to clinic appointments should target public CTCs,PLHIV aged between>25-35 years,above 50 years of age and those who are separated from their partners.

An Extended Bailey-welch Rule with No-show and Walk-in For Outpatient Appointment Scheduling

In clinic＇s appointment scheduling system no-shows have been a significant and confirmed issue with a bad influence on patient accessibility and clinic efficiency. The problem of walk-in has often been seen as the opposite of no-show problem. In this work we revisit a walk-in admitting based approach to mitigate the bad influence of no-show without overbooking. First we establish a model which utilizes marginal benefit objective function to balance the interests of the clinic, the patient and the doctor, we prove that no-show and walk-in cancels out each other straightly has a bad property. Then we propose a new rule which is an extension of the well-known Bailey - Welch rule, the simulation results show that our rule has an improvement comparing with the common rule that cancels them out straightly.

Understanding the antecedents of patients’missed appointments:the perspective of attribution theory

The occurrence of missed appointments from online outpatient bookings significantly hinders the operational efficiency of outpatient services.This study aimed to investigate various factors influencing patients’missed appointments from online outpatient bookings.Drawing on attribution theory,an empirical analysis was conducted using 382,004 authentic online outpatient appointments.The empirical findings revealed that appointment lead-time,appointment time,weekday appointments,online doctor rating,appointment doctor’s expertise,patient distance,and previous outpatient visit experience significantly influenced patients’missed appointment behaviors from online outpatient bookings.Importantly,previous outpatient experience positively moderated the relationship between the appointment doctor’s expertise and patients’missed-appointment behavior.This study provides insights into the factors influencing patients’missed-appointment behavior from online outpatient bookings.It further offers a theoretical foundation for medical institutions in China to mitigate the likelihood and adverse effects of patients’missed-appointment behavior from online outpatient bookings.

Visual analysis of shared medical appointments based on CiteSpace

Objective:Analyze the research hotspots and frontiers of shared outpatient service,and provide a reference for researchers in this field to carry out follow-up research.Methods:Search the Web of Science core collection database until 2022 and visually analyzekeywords in this field through CiteSpace5.8.R3 software,Results:A total of 261 iteratures were included.The research focuses mainly on advanced care planning,diabetes care,andgroup prenatal care,The research trend tends to be telemedicine and nursing provided by specialized nurses.Conclusion:Scholars can learn from the research hotspots of foreign shared medical appointments,pay attention to the research trend,expand its application scope in combination with China's national conditions,and further promote thedevelopment of shared medical appointments in China.

Making an Appointment

ＭａｋｉｎｇａｎＡｐｐｏｉｎｔｍｅｎｔ基本句ＢａｓｉｃＳｅｎｔｅｎｃｅｓ那可太好了！你看几点出发好？就这么定了。（Ｓｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎ：Ｍｒ．Ｗａｎｇ，ａｃｏｍｐａｎｙｍａｎａｇｅｒ，ｉｎｖｉｔｅｓｈｉｓｆｒｉｅｎｄＪｏｈｎｔｏｖｉｓｉｔｔｈｅＧｒｅａ...

Keeping an Appointment With Death The Final Contribution of a Woman Doct

ＫｅｅｐｉｎｇａｎＡｐｐｏｉｎｔｍｅｎｔＷｉｔｈＤｅａｔｈＴｈｅＦｉｎａｌＣｏｎｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｏｆａＷｏｍａｎＤｏｃｔｏｒＢｙＬＩＨＡＯＭＩＮＧＡＴＭＩＤ－ＡＵＴＵＭＮｎｉｇｈｔｉｎ１９９４Ｄｒ．ＺｈａｏＸｕｎｍｅｉ，ｃｈｉｅｆｐｈｙｓｉｃｉａｎ...

Reinforcement⁃Learning⁃Based Appointed⁃Time Prescribed Performance Attitude Control for Rigid Spacecraft

This paper addresses a geometric control algorithm for the attitude tracking problem of the rigid spacecraft modeled on SO(3).Considering the topological and geometric properties of SO(3),we introduced a smooth positive attitude error function to convert the attitude tracking issue on SO(3)into the stabilization counterpart on its Lie algebra.The error transformation technique was further utilized to ensure the assigned transient and steady state performance of the attitude tracking error with the aid of a well⁃designed assigned⁃time performance function.Then,using the actor⁃critic(AC)neural architecture,an adaptive reinforcement learning approximator was constructed,in which the actor neural network(NN)was utilized to approximate the unknown nonlinearity online.A critic function was introduced to tune the next phase of the actor neural network operation for performance improvement via supervising the system performance.A rigorous stability analysis was presented to show that the assigned system performance can be achieved.Finally,the effectiveness and feasibility of the constructed control strategy was verified by the numerical simulation.

New CIIS President Appointed by Foreign Ministry

On January 2,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the appointment of Ambassador Qi Zhenhong as the President of China Institute of International Studies.The appointment ceremony was attended by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang,

高校“非升即走”制度下教师权益保障困境及破解路径

随着“非升即走”成为我国高等学校教师聘任的主流制度,高校教师的权益保障问题在人事制度改革和相关立法中的重要性和紧迫性日益凸显。结合理论研究和司法实践来看,我国高校教师面临的权益保障困境主要表现为“学术青椒”的尴尬:在“非升即走”聘用合同签订前,高校教师的法律身份模糊;在签订合同时,高校教师的主体性尤其是平等参与权缺失;在履行合同中,高校教师权利救济渠道不畅。这些问题的主要原因在于“学术锦标赛”的异化:高校人事管理的相关法律内容模糊、高校办学自主权边界不清和“非升即走”制度的价值偏离。破解“非升即走”制度下高校教师权益保障的现实困境的关键在于学术生态的优化:国家层面应明确“非升即走”聘用合同是“具有行政要素的劳动合同”的法律属性,重构高校教师“兼具公权与私权性质的特殊劳动者”的法律身份,完善高校教师聘任的相关法律体系;高校层面应重塑“非升即走”的制度价值,充分发挥制度的激励和促进作用,完善“非升即走”制度内容及配套措施,健全教师权益保障机制。

Molecular Biologist Appointed as CAS Vice President

Prof. Chen Zhu, a molecular biologist, recently joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and was appointed vice president of the China’s top research center in natural sciences. Chen was a research professor at Shanghai Second Medical University before entering CAS. His career has included: the director of Shanghai Research Institute of Hematonosis, head of Key Lab of Human Genome of the Ministry

城市大气颗粒物中锑污染研究进展

随着工业化和城市化发展,高强度人类活动及锑化合物的广泛使用使城市大气环境中锑污染日趋严重。进入大气中的锑能长时间驻留并随大气环流进行长距离迁移造成跨区域污染。鉴于锑对人体的潜在毒性及致癌性,城市大气环境锑污染引起学术界和国家相关部门的高度重视,然而目前国内关于大气环境中锑的研究仍处于初期阶段。对城市大气颗粒物中锑的来源、污染特征、源解析等方面进行综述,在此基础上对大气环境中锑污染来源、迁移转化过程研究中的锑同位素应用前景进行展望,为进一步开展城市大气颗粒物锑污染研究、防治和环境管理提供参考。

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO LU YONGXIANG, A NEWLY APPOINTED VICE PRESIDENT OF CAS

Lu Yongxiang, male, fluid drive and control expert, professor at Zhejiang University. He was born on April 28, 1942, in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. His homeland is Cixi Prefecture. Zhejiang Province. He graduated from the Department of Machinery of Zhejiang University.In 1981,he attained a doctorate degree of

PROF.LU YONGXIANG IS APPOINTED CAS PRESIDENT

According to a special dispatch of the Bulletin, at a conference of leading cadres at or higher than the level of administrative bureaux in the CAS Beijing area on July 16, comrade Wu Lianyuan, vice minister of the Organizational Department under the CPC Central Committee announced that Prof. Lu Yongxiang has been appointed to succeed Prof. Zhou Guangzhao