ACOMPARATIVE STUDYOFRADIOLOGYPATIENTSWAIT TIMES IN TWO HOSPITALS IN BENIN CITY WITH AND WITHOUT A SCHEDULING SYSTEM

A hallmark of a well-managed radiology department is minimizing the time patients spend before accessing radiology services. Timely access to diagnostic imaging plays a critical role in the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery. Prolonged wait times can lead to patient dissatisfaction, delay diagnoses, extend hospital stays, and negatively affect clinical outcomes, especially in time-sensitive conditions such as trauma or cancer. This comparative cross-sectional survey aimed to evaluate and compare patient wait times in the radiology departments of two selected hospitals in Benin City: one utilizing a scheduling system (University of Benin Teaching Hospital) and the other operating without a scheduling system (University of Benin Healthcare Centre). A total of 249 participants were recruited using a stratified random sampling technique combined with purposive sampling to ensure adequate representation of patients attending the selected radiology departments. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. Socio-demographic findings revealed that the majority of respondents (24.5%) were aged 36–45 years, followed by 46–55 years (22.5%), 26–35 years (20.9%), and 18–25 years (15.7%). Of the participants, 58.2% attended the hospital with a scheduling system, while 41.8% attended the hospital without a scheduling system. Additionally, 58.2% of respondents had scheduled appointments, while 41.8% did not. Distribution of imaging procedures among participants included X-ray (29.7%), MRI (26.1%), CT scan (24.1%), and ultrasound (20.1%). Regarding wait times, patients attending the hospital with a scheduling system were typically attended to within 10–20 minutes. In contrast, patients at the hospital without a scheduling system waited more than 45 minutes on average. Overall, 78.3% of respondents considered the waiting time acceptable, whereas 21.7% deemed it unacceptable. Communication about waiting times was rated as excellent or good by 77.2% of respondents, fair by 11.2%, and poor by 11.6%. In terms of overall satisfaction, 72.3% reported being very satisfied or satisfied, while 17.4% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. Hypothesis testing revealed that comparisons between the two groups yielded p-values < 0.05, indicating statistically significant differences. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected, and the alternate hypothesis was accepted, confirming a significant difference in patient wait times between radiology departments with and without a scheduling system. These findings underscore the importance of implementing scheduling systems to reduce patient wait times, improve satisfaction, and enhance overall efficiency in radiology departments. Hospitals without scheduling systems are recommended to adopt computerized or manual appointment protocols to better manage patient flow and minimize waiting times