Question

This is a queuing theory question,. The average arrival rate, , is the average number of arrivals per unit of time (minute, hour, day week, etc.); the average time between two consecutive arrivals is 1 / . If I told you that = 5 patients per hour, how many minutes would there be between two consecutive arrivals on average? How did you determine your answer?

Answer 1

Average arrival rate = 5 patients per hour

Then,

Time between two consecutive arrivals = 1/Average arrival rate

Time between two consecutive arrivals = 1/5

Time between two consecutive arrivals = .2 hour

Time between two consecutive arrivals = .2*60 minute

Time between two consecutive arrivals = 12 minutes

So, 12 minutes is the time between two consecutive arrivals.

It is identified using first calculating the time in hours , then converting into minutes as per the above used formula.