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Appointment games with unobservable and observable schedules

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Deceuninck

    (Ghent University)

  • Stijn Vuyst

    (Ghent University
    Flanders Make)

  • Dieter Claeys

    (Ghent University
    Flanders Make)

  • Dieter Fiems

    (Ghent University)

Abstract

Appointment scheduling assigns start times in a session or consultation block to a set of tasks that share a common resource. For a generic repeated appointment scheduling problem, we study the trade-off between waiting for an appointment and waiting at the appointed time. Assuming that being scheduled later during a session implies that one has to wait longer for service (on average), it is often beneficial to choose a consultation block further away. We study this trade-off both when the patients have no information on how many patients are already scheduled in future consultation blocks and when they can observe the future block schedules. By some numerical examples, we find that in both cases the rational choice considerably changes between consecutive appointment blocks, patients favouring later blocks when the next appointment block starts in the near future. We also compare the rational choice with the socially optimal schedule and find that socially optimal scheduling can significantly reduce the waiting cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Deceuninck & Stijn Vuyst & Dieter Claeys & Dieter Fiems, 2021. "Appointment games with unobservable and observable schedules," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 307(1), pages 93-110, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:annopr:v:307:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10479-021-04168-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10479-021-04168-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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