Overview
The Chair Usage calculator analyzes treatment room and chair utilization in healthcare facilities by comparing scheduled appointments against actual patient occupancy. It creates time-based visualizations showing how efficiently your facility uses available capacity throughout the day, helping you optimize scheduling, reduce wait times, and identify opportunities to serve more patients without adding resources.
This is an administrator-only calculator designed specifically for hospital and healthcare processes where tracking infusion chairs, dialysis stations, treatment rooms, or examination rooms is critical for operational efficiency.
Common Uses
- Identify peak utilization periods to optimize staffing and resource allocation in infusion centers, dialysis units, or procedure rooms
- Compare scheduled appointments versus actual patient occupancy to quantify the impact of no-shows and late cancellations
- Detect underutilized time slots where additional appointments could be scheduled without adding capacity
- Analyze zone-specific utilization patterns to balance patient load across multiple treatment areas
- Support capacity planning decisions with data-driven insights on whether to expand facilities or redistribute existing resources
- Monitor utilization trends across different days of the week to identify optimal scheduling patterns
Settings
Appointment DateTime Column: Select the case attribute containing the scheduled appointment date and time. This represents when the patient is scheduled to arrive or when treatment is planned to begin. Must be a DateTime column.
Scheduled Duration Column: Select the case attribute containing the planned duration of the appointment or treatment. This can be a numeric column (representing minutes, hours, etc.) or a TimeSpan column with direct duration values.
Scheduled Duration Unit: When using a numeric Scheduled Duration Column, specify the time unit (Minutes, Hours, Days, etc.). This tells the calculator how to interpret the numeric values. If your Scheduled Duration Column is already a TimeSpan, this setting is ignored.
Treatment Start DateTime Column: Select the case attribute containing the actual treatment start date and time. This represents when the patient actually checked in or when treatment actually began. Must be a DateTime column.
Treatment End DateTime Column: Select the case attribute containing the actual treatment end date and time. This represents when the patient checked out or when treatment actually ended. Must be a DateTime column.
Bin Size: Specify the time interval for grouping utilization data (default: 15 minutes). Each bin represents a time slice during the day. Smaller bins (5-10 minutes) provide more granular detail but increase processing time. Common values are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour.
Capacity Groups: Define the number of available chairs or rooms and their availability periods. Each capacity group specifies a start time, end time, and number of chairs available during that period. Leave empty to auto-calculate capacity based on peak scheduled appointments. Use manual configuration when capacity varies throughout the day (e.g., 8 chairs from 8 AM to noon, 12 chairs from noon to 5 PM).
Zone Column: Select the case attribute that identifies the treatment zone or area (e.g., "Adult Zone 1", "Pediatric Unit", "West Wing"). Only needed when analyzing a specific zone.
Selected Zone: Specify which zone to analyze. Works together with Zone Column and Selected Day to filter data. Use this when you want to analyze utilization for one specific treatment area.
Selected Day: Choose a specific date to analyze. The calculator requires all visits to occur on the same day. Use this setting when performing day-specific zone analysis.
Filters: Apply standard mindzie filters to pre-filter cases before calculating utilization (e.g., filter by appointment type, patient category, or provider).
Examples
Example 1: Infusion Center Daily Utilization
Scenario: A hospital infusion center has 10 treatment chairs and operates from 8 AM to 6 PM. The nursing director wants to understand if the facility is efficiently utilizing available chairs and whether there's capacity to accept more patients. They've noticed that some time periods seem overcrowded while others have empty chairs.
Settings:
- Appointment DateTime Column: APPOINTMENT_TIME
- Scheduled Duration Column: SCHEDULED_DURATION_MINUTES
- Scheduled Duration Unit: Minutes
- Treatment Start DateTime Column: CHECKIN_TIME
- Treatment End DateTime Column: CHECKOUT_TIME
- Bin Size: 15 minutes
- Capacity Groups: (empty - auto-calculate)
- Zone Column: (not used)
- Selected Zone: (not used)
- Selected Day: (not used)
Output:
The calculator generates a time-binned table showing scheduled appointments, actual occupancy, and capacity for each 15-minute interval:
| Time | Scheduled | Actual | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 08:15 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 08:30 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| 08:45 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| 09:00 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| 09:15 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| 09:30 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 15:00 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| 15:15 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| 15:30 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
Overall Metrics:
- Scheduled Utilization: 78%
- Actual Utilization: 68%
- Scheduled Visits: 42
- Actual Visits: 38
Insights: The infusion center is scheduled at 78% capacity, indicating relatively efficient booking. However, actual utilization is only 68%, revealing a 10-percentage-point gap caused by patient no-shows or cancellations. The morning period (9:00-10:00 AM) shows peak utilization at 90-100%, suggesting this is the most popular appointment time. Afternoon periods (3:00-5:00 PM) show lower utilization (40-60%), indicating opportunities to schedule additional appointments without adding chairs.
Action Items:
- Implement a reminder system to reduce the 10% gap between scheduled and actual attendance
- Offer incentives for afternoon appointments to balance utilization throughout the day
- Consider adding overflow capacity during 9:00-10:00 AM peak period or spreading appointments more evenly
- The facility can likely handle 10-15% more patients by better utilizing afternoon time slots
Example 2: Multi-Zone Treatment Area Analysis
Scenario: A large cancer treatment center has three infusion zones (Adult Zone 1, Adult Zone 2, and Pediatric Zone). Leadership wants to compare utilization across zones to determine if patient load is balanced or if some zones are over-scheduled while others sit idle.
Settings:
- Appointment DateTime Column: APPOINTMENT_TIME
- Scheduled Duration Column: SCHEDULED_DURATION_MINUTES
- Scheduled Duration Unit: Minutes
- Treatment Start DateTime Column: CHECKIN_TIME
- Treatment End DateTime Column: CHECKOUT_TIME
- Bin Size: 30 minutes
- Capacity Groups: (auto-calculate)
- Zone Column: ZONE
- Selected Zone: Adult Zone 1
- Selected Day: 2024-11-22
Output for Adult Zone 1:
| Time | Scheduled | Actual | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 08:30 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| 09:00 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| 09:30 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 10:00 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
Overall Metrics:
- Scheduled Utilization: 92%
- Actual Utilization: 87%
- Scheduled Visits: 28
- Actual Visits: 26
Running the same analysis for Adult Zone 2 and Pediatric Zone:
Adult Zone 2:
- Scheduled Utilization: 73%
- Actual Utilization: 68%
Pediatric Zone:
- Scheduled Utilization: 58%
- Actual Utilization: 54%
Insights: Adult Zone 1 is operating near maximum capacity at 92% scheduled utilization, with actual utilization of 87% indicating excellent patient show-up rates. This zone is likely experiencing scheduling constraints and may not be able to accommodate urgent add-on appointments. Adult Zone 2 at 73% is well-utilized but has room for additional patients. The Pediatric Zone at 58% shows significant underutilization, with nearly half of available chairs idle during the day.
Action Items:
- Redistribute adult patients between Zone 1 and Zone 2 to balance capacity and reduce strain on Zone 1
- Investigate why Pediatric Zone utilization is low (lower patient volumes, longer appointment durations, or scheduling gaps)
- Consider converting some Pediatric Zone capacity to adult use during low-demand periods
- Monitor Zone 1 for potential bottlenecks or patient experience issues caused by overcrowding
Example 3: Variable Capacity Scheduling
Scenario: An outpatient dialysis clinic operates with different staffing levels throughout the day due to shift schedules. They have 8 stations from 6 AM to 2 PM (morning shift), then increase to 12 stations from 2 PM to 10 PM (afternoon/evening shift) when more nurses are available. The clinic director wants to verify that appointments are being scheduled to match staff availability.
Settings:
- Appointment DateTime Column: APPOINTMENT_TIME
- Scheduled Duration Column: TREATMENT_HOURS
- Scheduled Duration Unit: Hours
- Treatment Start DateTime Column: ACTUAL_START
- Treatment End DateTime Column: ACTUAL_END
- Bin Size: 30 minutes
- Capacity Groups:
- Group 1: Start Time: 06:00:00, End Time: 14:00:00, Number of Chairs: 8
- Group 2: Start Time: 14:00:00, End Time: 22:00:00, Number of Chairs: 12
- Zone Column: (not used)
- Selected Zone: (not used)
- Selected Day: (not used)
Output:
| Time | Scheduled | Actual | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 06:30 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| 07:00 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 13:30 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| 14:00 | 9 | 8 | 12 |
| 14:30 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| 15:00 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
Overall Metrics:
- Scheduled Utilization: 85%
- Actual Utilization: 79%
Insights: The dialysis clinic is efficiently utilizing its variable capacity model. Morning shift (6 AM - 2 PM) shows 85-100% utilization of the 8 available stations, indicating the facility is maximizing capacity with existing staff. The afternoon/evening shift (2 PM - 10 PM) shows 75-92% utilization of 12 stations, suggesting the expanded capacity is appropriate for higher patient demand during these hours. The 6-percentage-point gap between scheduled and actual utilization indicates most patients are showing up for their appointments, which is typical for dialysis where treatments are medically necessary.
Action Items:
- The current staffing model aligns well with patient demand patterns
- Consider adding 1-2 additional stations during afternoon shift based on 92% peak utilization
- Monitor morning shift closely as it's operating at maximum capacity with no buffer for emergencies
- Maintain current scheduling practices as they effectively match capacity to demand
Output
The calculator produces a comprehensive utilization analysis with the following components:
Time-Binned Table: A data table with columns for Time, Scheduled chairs occupied, Actual chairs occupied, and Capacity available. Each row represents one time interval (bin) showing how many chairs were scheduled, how many were actually in use, and how many were available during that period.
Overall Utilization Metrics:
- Scheduled Utilization (percentage): The proportion of available capacity that was scheduled for use
- Actual Utilization (percentage): The proportion of available capacity that was actually used
- Scheduled Visit Count: Total number of appointments scheduled
- Actual Visit Count: Total number of treatments completed
Time Range Information:
- Start Time: Beginning of the analysis period (time of day)
- End Time: End of the analysis period (time of day)
- Bin Size: Duration of each time interval
Capacity Configuration: The capacity groups used for the calculation, showing when chairs were available and in what quantities.
You can visualize this output as:
- Line chart: Three lines showing scheduled occupancy, actual occupancy, and capacity over time
- Stacked area chart: Visual representation of capacity utilization throughout the day
- Bar chart: Side-by-side comparison of scheduled versus actual occupancy for each time bin
- Heat map: Color-coded visualization of utilization intensity across different time periods
- Gauge charts: Single-value displays for overall scheduled and actual utilization percentages
This documentation is part of the mindzie Studio process mining platform.