DESIGN OF MICROCONTROLLER-BASED ENHANCED PATIENT CALLING SYSTEM FOR UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI CLINIC

The solution to the short-comings of both traditional and modern queue management systems is presented here and named “The Enhanced Patient Calling System” which is a microcontroller-based queue management system designed with the ability to handle absent patients from the queue in the form of a ‘slot-back’. The setting of the design is the University of Maiduguri clinic which operates on the traditional system of queuing whereby patients sit in chronological order and then shift forward as early comers go in to consult with the doctor. The system is stressful and can be disorganized when a queuee leaves the queue for any reason including exigencies. The design presented in this paper is made up of three microcontrollers, each connected to screens that display patient number when it is the turn of the patient to consult with the doctor or see the pharmacist, as the case may be. More so, it uses a mathematical model to slot-back an absent patient into the queue.