Optimizing Outpatient Pharmacy Waiting Time During Peak Hours: A JKN-Based Analysis of Queue Categories and Polyclinic Bottlenecks

Abstract

Background: Long prescription waiting times in outpatient pharmacies critically reduce patient satisfaction and hospital reputation, especially under Indonesia’s National Health Insurance (JKN) dominance.

Objective: To compare prescription waiting times between morning (07.00-10.00) and afternoon (10.00-13.00) periods by queue category and originating polyclinic.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study analyzed secondary data from 2,005 outpatient prescriptions (April 8-25, 2025) using descriptive statistics; unpaired t-tests compared mean waiting times across queues (ΣA: compounded, ΣB: JKN-chronic, ΣN: non-chronic, ΣF: fast track), and polyclinics.

Results: Average waiting time surged from 45.46 minutes (morning) to 84.44 minutes (afternoon) (p < 0.01), with the steepest increases in the ΣA queue (110% rise) and Cardiology polyclinic (114% rise). Only 11.29% of compounded (ΣA) met the ≤ 60-minute standard in the afternoon (vs. 89.09% in the morning, p < 0.01), while JKN-Chronic (ΣB) dropped to 2.82% compliance with the ≤ 30-minute benchmark.

Conclusions: Strategic Lean-ToC interventions are empirically recommended to resolve the critical peak-hour prescription bottleneck, strengthening Indonesia’s JKN sustainability.