A emergency room is currently organized so that all patients register through an initial check-in process. At his or her turn, each patient is seen by a doctor and then exits the process, either with a prescription or with admission to the hospital. Currently, 55 people per hour arrive at the ER, 10% of who are admitted to the hospital. On average, 7 people are waiting to be registered and 34 are registered and waiting to see a doctor. The registrations process takes, on average, 2 minutes per patient. Among patients who receive prescriptions, the average time spent with a doctor is 5 minutes. Among those admitted to the hospital, the average time is 30 minutes. We assume a stable system – average inflow equals average outflow at every stage.
1. Draw a process flow diagram of this emergency room.
2. On average, how long does a patient spend in the ER?
3. On average, how many patients are being examined by doctors?
4. On average, how many patients are there in the ER?
