An Agent-Based Approach for Patient Satisfaction and Collateral Health Effects

The purpose of this study is to clarify the collateral health effects of health care , especially the relationship between patients and their families, using agent-based simulation. To this end we describe the general appearance of our simulation model and the simulation settings. The results of six model scenarios, each involving differing combinations of patient agents, patient’s family agents, doctor agents, a government agent, and nonprofit organization (NPO) agents, are then explained and discussed. We conclude with a summary that touches on the tasks that lie ahead, including an appropriate subset of health care policies that involve the participation of NPO agents.