A discrete event simulation for the management of surgical suite scheduling

This research into operating room scheduling procedures led to the development of an interactive simulation model written in the simulation language SLAM II. It serves as part of a larger decision support system for the management of hospital surgical suites. The paper presents the problem in detail, describes the systems model, gives an example for a suite of eight rooms and twelve surgical type operations, and shows the structure of the coding. The methods presented here have wide applicability and may be used whenever one is concerned with scheduling policies involving advanced bookings.