Simulating hospital patient flows

Abstract

This case study development has benefited by the use of clear on-screen logic which has facilitated useful discussions between the analyst and end-users. The screen displays enable a realistic depiction of a system to be developed. A simple first model was gradually made more realistic in a step-by-step process involving both analyst and end-users. The investigation is continuing and the model is being further refined. Data collection is underway, and system data will be used to provide the model's input parameters of arrival and service rates. Times and lengths of queues of patients and total time in the system will be compared with their model equivalents. The resulting model is likely to be acceptable to the end-users because of their involvement in its development. This involvement has been facilitated by a simulation environment which enables on-screen iconic representations of system components to be created by analyst and end-user together.

Discrete event simulation for performance modelling in health care: a review of the literature

“…The importance of client involvement in health-care simulation projects is pointed out by many scholars, including Lehaney et al (1998), Lane et al (2003), Brailsford et al (2004), Harper and Pitt (2004). It should, though, be noted that these papers are concerned with projects carried out for specific clients, with specific objectives, and hence with the models built for specific purposes.…”

“…Choosing the right level of detail is especially important for saving time in the model development phase, and also for convincing stakeholders on the use of model. Lehaney et al (1998) also emphasize the use of animation in gaining users' confidence, although animation often increases the level of detail in simulation models and may not be appropriate for all applications.…”

Dealing with complexity – the contribution of problem structuring methods to management science

“…The term "soft OR" is also often used in the management science literature to represent those non-mathematical approaches within the field of OR, whose main objective is to create a better understanding of the ill-defined and ill-structured problematic situations that are seen as "messes", which traditional mathematical OR approaches (or "hard OR") seem to be unable to cope with. Of course, there is always a fine line between "hard OR" and "soft OR", and it may depend on how a particular approach is used and the extent to which it is used in a hard or soft waysimulation, for example, which is typically seen to be a hard OR approach has been used in a softer way to help reduce the barriers to communication between clients and analysts (Lehaney et al, 1998a(Lehaney et al, , 1998b. Today, the terms "soft OR" and "problem structuring methods (PSMs)" are both used extensively in the management science literature, although there is an ongoing debate among the supporters of these methods as to which of these names is more accurate and should therefore be adopted (this issue will be picked up in the last part of the paper).…”

Secondary Complications in SCI Across the Continuum: Using Operations Research to Predict the Impact and Optimize Management Strategies

“…Although operations research covers any research focused on improving operations, the term is often reserved for the use of models or simplified mathematical/computer abstractions of operations that permit experimentation with alternatives, in other words, asking "whatif "questions. [2][3][4][5][6] Some parallels between the worlds of industry and health care are obvious. Take the case of efficiently packing a 40-foot shipping container with highly heterogeneous products that have numerous constraints about weight, shape, and stackability.…”