TY - JOUR T1 - Predicting and Reducing Patient Waiting Times in Dental Clinics Using Machine Learning: A Case Study from Türkiye TT - Predicting and Reducing Patient Waiting Times in Dental Clinics Using Machine Learning: A Case Study from Türkiye AU - Keskin, Abdulkadir PY - 2025 DA - January Y2 - 2024 DO - 10.34248/bsengineering.1574470 JF - Black Sea Journal of Engineering and Science JO - BSJ Eng. Sci. PB - Karyay Karadeniz Yayımcılık Ve Organizasyon Ticaret Limited Şirketi WT - DergiPark SN - 2619-8991 SP - 243 EP - 248 VL - 8 IS - 1 LA - en AB - Long waiting times in polyclinics are a critical factor affecting patient satisfaction and the efficient use of healthcare personnel and resources. This study applied machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict and reduce patient waiting times in a dental clinic in Türkiye. The daily data collected from the clinic included variables such as patient satisfaction, appointment patients, Walk-in patients, number of doctors and nurses, and dental technicians on duty. Six ML algorithms were tested: Decision Trees (DT), Linear Regression (LR), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), Kernel Regression (KR), and Neural Networks (NN). Among these, the GPR model achieved the best performance, accurately predicting patient waiting times with an R2 value of 0.936 and RMSE of 0.075. This study highlights the potential of ML methods to enhance operational efficiency in healthcare management. KW - Healthcare management KW - Waiting time prediction KW - Dental clinic KW - Machine learning N2 - Long waiting times in polyclinics are a critical factor affecting patient satisfaction and the efficient use of healthcare personnel and resources. This study applied machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict and reduce patient waiting times in a dental clinic in Türkiye. The daily data collected from the clinic included variables such as patient satisfaction, appointment patients, Walk-in patients, number of doctors and nurses, and dental technicians on duty. Six ML algorithms were tested: Decision Trees (DT), Linear Regression (LR), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), Kernel Regression (KR), and Neural Networks (NN). Among these, the GPR model achieved the best performance, accurately predicting patient waiting times with an R2 value of 0.936 and RMSE of 0.075. This study highlights the potential of ML methods to enhance operational efficiency in healthcare management. CR - Anderson RT, Camacho FT, Balkrishnan R. 2007. Willing to wait? The influence of patient wait time on satisfaction with primary care. 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UR - https://doi.org/10.34248/bsengineering.1574470 L1 - https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4318806 ER -