The provision of efficient healthcare services is essential, driven by the increasing demand for healthcare resources and the need to optimize hospital operations. In this context, the motivation to innovate and improve services while addressing urgent concerns is critical. Hospitals face challenges in managing internal dispatch services efficiently. Outsourcing such services can alleviate the burden on hospital staff, reduce costs, and introduce professional expertise. However, the pressing motivation lies in enhancing service quality, minimizing costs, and exploring innovative approaches. With the rising demand for healthcare services, there is an immediate need to streamline hospital operations. Delays in internal transportation services can have far-reaching implications for patient care, necessitating a prompt and effective solution. Drawing upon dispatch data from a healthcare center in Taiwan, this study constructed a decision-making model to optimize the allocation of hospital service resources. Employing simulation techniques, we closely examine how hospital services are currently organized and how they work. In our research, we utilized dispatch data gathered from a healthcare center in Taichung, Taiwan, spanning from January 2020 to December 2020. Our findings underscore the potential of an intelligent dispatch strategy combined with deployment restricted to the nearest available workers. Our study demonstrates that for cases requiring urgent attention, delay rates that previously ranged from 5% to 34% can be notably reduced to a much-improved 3% to 18%. However, it is important to recognize that the realm of worker dispatch remains subject to a multifaceted array of influencing factors. It becomes evident that a comprehensive dispatching mechanism must be established as part of a broader drive to enhance the efficiency of hospital service operations.

Inefficient patient transport in hospitals often leads to delays, overworked staff, and suboptimal resource utilization, ultimately impacting patient care. Existing dispatch management algorithms are often evaluated in simulation environments, raising concerns about their real-world applicability. This study presents a real-world experiment that bridges the gap between theoretical dispatch algorithms and real-world implementation. It applies process capability analysis at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan, and utilizes IoT for real-time tracking of staff and medical devices to address challenges associated with manual dispatch processes. Experimental data collected from the hospital underwent statistical evaluation between January 2021 and December 2021. The results of our experiment, which compared the use of traditional dispatch methods with the Beacon dispatch method, found that traditional dispatch had an overtime delay of 41.0%; in comparison, the Beacon dispatch method had an overtime delay of 26.5%. These findings demonstrate the transformative potential of this solution for not only hospital operations but also for improving service quality across the healthcare industry in the context of smart hospitals.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, outsourcing non-core services like cleaning, security, and logistics allowed healthcare facilities to focus on patient care. In Taiwan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s guidelines ensured outsourced staff were properly trained to minimize infection risks, supporting epidemic control. Our hospital’s “Epidemic Response Command System” highlighted the critical role of outsourced personnel in maintaining operational continuity, enabling medical staff to focus on patient care. Outsourcing was essential for supporting logistics and operations, ensuring the smooth functioning of the hospital while healthcare professionals focused on direct patient care. Simultaneously, stringent auditing mechanisms were established to enable outsourced colleagues to perform tasks within a safety-controlled framework. Emphasis was placed on prioritized and enhanced management for personnel engaged in cleaning, transportation, and access security, including personnel segregation and diversion management. In-depth on-site training by infection control nurses covered cleaning, disinfection operations, health management, and counseling mechanisms. It was executed meticulously, given the paramount importance of operations auditing in infection control and epidemic prevention effectiveness. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for stricter infection control. Reducing outsourced personnel ensures standardized hygiene protocols, better staff protection, and reduced legal risks, improving overall healthcare response. In future planning for specialized units, medical institutions should consider minimizing outsourced personnel or implementing measures, such as enhancing salary and benefits, for dedicated on-site staff.