A Simple and Intuitve Simulation Tool for Analyzing the Performance of Emergency Departments

Abstract

In recent years hospitals have been vigorously searching for ways to reduce costs and improve productivity. One tool, simulation, is now widely accepted as an effective method for assisting management in evaluating different operational alternatives. It can help improve existing Emergency Departments (EDs) and assist in planning and designing new EDs. In order to increase the acceptance of simulation in healthcare systems in general and EDs in particular, hospital management should be directly involved in the development of these projects. Such involvement will also bolster the model's credibility. In addition, it is important to simplify simulation processes as much as is reasonably possible and use visual aids or animation that will heighten users' confidence in the model's ability. This study lays the foundation for the development of a simulation tool which is general, flexible, intuitive, simple to use and contains default values for most of the system's parameters.

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

“…Almost every year the Winter Simulation Conference proceedings include one or more papers on A&E simulations. Examples include : Ferrin et al (2007), Ruohonen et al (2006), Sinreich and Marmor (2004), Miller et al (2004), Wiinamaki and Dronzek (2003), and Alvarez and Centeno (1999). Ferrin et al (2007) demonstrates a DES model (EDSim) that is used to develop processes for increasing throughput in an emergency department (ED) in the USA as part of a system that permitted the diversion of ambulances in peak demand periods, which had financial implications for the client ED.…”

“…Also aiming at reusability, Sinreich and Marmor (2004) reports a 'generic process ED model' built using Arena simulation software. In their discussion, they analyse ED models based on their level of abstraction, leading to a spectrum from fixed to generic.…”

Scorpius: sFlow Network Anomaly Simulator

“…The computational solution to this problem is usually the simulation, an approach where the desired test environment is artificially (virtually) reproduced, which is used by several different researchers. Sinreich and Marmor (2004), the authors highlights the importance of simulation processes on the reduction of costs and productivity improvement of hospital environments. They describe the basis of simulation tools in this environment, which must be intuitive, simple to use and flexible.…”

The DH Accident and Emergency Department model: a national generic model used locally

“…In a study which concerns the simulation of emergency departments in Israel, Sinreich et al (2004) suggest three levels of genericity -the most generic being high levels of abstraction that can model any system and scenario, the least generic being those that can model only one specific system. In the middle are models at medium abstraction that can model any provider of a similar process.…”