1. What is Average Waiting Time?

The Average Waiting Time (Avg WT) is a key performance metric in medical settings that measures the average time patients wait before receiving care. It's calculated by dividing the total waiting time of all patients by the number of patients.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the simple average formula:

Where:

• \( \sum \text{WT} \) — Sum of all patients' waiting times (minutes)
• \( \text{Patients} \) — Total number of patients

Explanation: This calculation provides the mean waiting time across all patients, helping healthcare providers assess service efficiency.

3. Importance of Average Waiting Time

Details: Monitoring average waiting time helps healthcare facilities improve patient satisfaction, optimize staff allocation, and identify bottlenecks in service delivery.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the total waiting time in minutes and the number of patients. Both values must be positive numbers (patients must be at least 1).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's a good average waiting time?
A: Ideal waiting times vary by specialty, but generally under 15-20 minutes is considered good for non-emergency care.

Q2: How should waiting time be measured?
A: From when the patient checks in to when they are seen by the healthcare provider.

Q3: Should outliers be excluded?
A: For routine analysis, include all data. For specific assessments, you might analyze with and without extreme outliers.

Q4: How often should waiting times be calculated?
A: Regularly (daily/weekly) to monitor trends and after process changes to assess impact.

Q5: What other metrics complement Avg WT?
A: Median waiting time, 90th percentile, and percentage seen within target time provide additional insights.