Simulation in healthcare is a model linking patients, queues, beds, nurses/doctors, theaters and facilities such as x-Ray. It simulates patients moving from area to area. The model can imitate aspects such as: treatment times, shifts and outcomes. Data can be based on averages, real or on a statistical distribution, resembling the expected reality.
Simulation can deal with complicated interactions
BEFORE YOU DO IT - MODEL IT
Simulation has achieved benefits such as:
- Decreased A&E queueing times by 20%
- Improved ambulance response times by 30%
- Increased availability of high dependency beds by 15% - through better patient journey
- Designed scheduling rules for theater increasing efficiency by 10%
- Arbitrated changes in work practices based on an objective methodology
- Proved a proposed change will work - often a model is used just to test a proposed system
- A&E Design
- Theatre Scheduling
- Bed Management
- Resource Planning/Shift Planning
- Identifying Bottlenecks
- Patients Journey
- Priority Rules
- Linking all of the above