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

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has been widely used in modelling health-care systems for many years and a simple citation analysis shows that the number of papers published has increased markedly since 2004. Over the last 30 years several significant reviews of DES papers have been published and we build on these to focus on the most recent era, with an interest in performance modelling within hospitals. As there are few papers that propose or illustrate general approaches, we classify papers according to the areas of application evident in the literature, discussing the apparent lack of genericity. There is considerable diversity in the objectives of reported studies and in the consequent level of detail: We discuss why specificity dominates and why more generic approaches are rare.

[1]  Christos Vasilakis,et al.  Modelling nationwide hospital length of stay: opening the black box , 2005, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[2]  M. Render,et al.  Dynamic simulation modeling of ICU bed availability , 1999, WSC'99. 1999 Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings. 'Simulation - A Bridge to the Future' (Cat. No.99CH37038).

[3]  M.A. Centeno,et al.  Enhancing simulation models for emergency rooms using VBA , 1999, WSC'99. 1999 Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings. 'Simulation - A Bridge to the Future' (Cat. No.99CH37038).

[4]  Sheldon Howard Jacobson,et al.  Application of discrete-event simulation in health care clinics: A survey , 1999, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[5]  Ronald E. Giachetti,et al.  Assessing the viability of an open access policy in an outpatient clinic: a discrete-event and continuous simulation modeling approach , 2005, Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, 2005..

[6]  T. Eldabi,et al.  A proposed approach for modelling health-care systems for understanding , 2006, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[7]  Ray J. Paul,et al.  A proposed approach for modeling healthcare systems for understanding , 2001, Proceeding of the 2001 Winter Simulation Conference (Cat. No.01CH37304).

[8]  Julie C. Lowery,et al.  Determination of operating room requirements using simulation , 1999, WSC '99.

[9]  J C Wilson.  Implementation of Computer Simulation Projects in Health Care , 1981, The Journal of the Operational Research Society.

[10]  David M. Ferrin,et al.  Maximizing hospital finanacial impact and emergency department throughput with simulation , 2007, 2007 Winter Simulation Conference.

[11]  Jeffery K. Cochran,et al.  A multi-stage stochastic methodology for whole hospital bed planning under peak loading , 2006 .

[12]  G. Bevan,et al.  "Systematic" , 1966, Comput. J..

[13]  Soemon Takakuwa,et al.  Simulation analysis of appointment scheduling in an outpatient department of internal medicine , 2005, Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, 2005..

[14]  Michael Pidd,et al.  Tools for Thinking—Modelling in Management Science , 1997 .

[15]  R. B. Fetter,et al.  The Simulation of Hospital Systems , 1965 .

[16]  Michael Pidd,et al.  Simulation model reuse: definitions, benefits and obstacles , 2004, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[17]  Camilla Monefeldt,et al.  Client Involvement in Simulation Model Building: Hints and Insights from a Case Study in a London Hospital , 2003, Health care management science.

[18]  Stewart Robinson,et al.  Modes of simulation practice: approaches to business and military simulation , 2002, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[19]  Michael Pidd,et al.  Tools for thinking , 1996 .

[20]  David M. Ferrin,et al.  Analyzing incentives and scheduling in a major metropolitan hospital operating room through simulation , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[21]  A. Couchman,et al.  Predicting the future performance of a clinical biochemistry laboratory by computer simulation , 2002, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[22]  R Davies,et al.  Modelling patient flows and resource provision in health systems , 1994 .

[23]  van der,et al.  Proceedings of the 2012 winter simulation conference , 2001, WSC 2008.

[24]  Francisco J. Ramis,et al.  A simulator to improve patient's service in a network of clinic laboratories , 2002, Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference.

[25]  A. Wiinamaki,et al.  Using simulation in the architectural concept phase of an emergency department design , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 Winter Simulation Conference, 2003..

[26]  Fatah Chetouane,et al.  Modeling and Improving Emergency Department Systems using Discrete Event Simulation , 2007, Simul..

[27]  Ray J. Paul.  Outpatient clinics , 1995 .

[28]  Carolyn R. Busby,et al.  Redesigning the medication ordering, dispensing, and administration process in an acute care academic health sciences centre , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 Winter Simulation Conference, 2003..

[29]  Stephen D. Roberts,et al.  Applications of computer simulation in health care , 1978, WSC '78.

[30]  W. Hancock,et al.  The use of admissions simulation to stabilize ancillary workloads , 1984 .

[31]  Ming Guo,et al.  Outpatient clinic scheduling - a simulation approach , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[32]  M. Brandreth,et al.  A simulation-based study of a NHS Walk-in Centre , 2005, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[33]  Paul R. Harper,et al.  Reduced outpatient waiting times with improved appointment scheduling: a simulation modelling approach , 2003, OR Spectr..

[34]  Paul Robert Harper,et al.  Modelling for the planning and management of bed capacities in hospitals , 2002, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[35]  Soemon Takakuwa,et al.  Functional analysis for operating emergency department of a general hospital , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[36]  K. Preston White,et al.  Using RFID Technologies to Capture Simulation Data in a Hospital Emergency Department , 2006, Proceedings of the 2006 Winter Simulation Conference.

[37]  J. D. Tardós,et al.  Publish or Perish , 1987 .

[38]  Michael Pidd,et al.  DGHPSim: Supporting smart thinking to improve hospital performance , 2008, 2008 Winter Simulation Conference.

[39]  Lorenzo Moreno Ruiz,et al.  Patient-Centered Simulation to Aid Decision-Making in Hospital Management , 2000, Simul..

[40]  David Sinreich,et al.  A simple and intuitive simulation tool for analyzing emergency department operations , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[41]  Ruth Davies,et al.  Simulating health systems: modelling problems and software solutions , 1995 .

[42]  Robert B. van der Meer,et al.  Using OR to support the development of an integrated musculo-skeletal service , 2005, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[43]  Emre A. Veral,et al.  Designing appointment scheduling systems for ambulatory care services , 2006, Health care management science.

[44]  R. G. Ingalls,et al.  PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2002 WINTER SIMULATION CONFERENCE , 2002 .

[45]  Jeff D. Griffiths,et al.  Modelling the requirement for supplementary nurses in an intensive care unit , 2005, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[46]  David C. Lane,et al.  Looking in the wrong place for healthcare improvements: A system dynamics study of an accident and emergency department , 2000, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[47]  Ira Horowitz,et al.  Analysis of capacity management of the intensive care unit in a hospital , 1999, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[48]  L O'Brien-Pallas,et al.  A surgical process management tool. , 1995, Medinfo. MEDINFO.

[49]  D. Halsall,et al.  The DH Accident and Emergency Department model: a national generic model used locally , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[50]  William Cahill,et al.  Dynamic simulation modeling of ICU bed availability , 1999, WSC '99.

[51]  Martha A. Centeno,et al.  Enhancing simulation models for emergency rooms using VBA , 1999, WSC '99.

[52]  J. Posnett,et al.  Dynamics of bed use in accommodating emergency admissions: stochastic simulation model , 1999, BMJ.

[53]  J. M. Szymanski,et al.  Simulating six sigma improvement ideas for a hospital emergency department , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 Winter Simulation Conference, 2003..

[54]  Osman Balci,et al.  Modeling and analyzing a physician clinic environment using discrete-event (visual) simulation , 2001, Comput. Oper. Res..

[55]  Paul R. Harper,et al.  On the challenges of healthcare modelling and a proposed project life cycle for successful implementation , 2004, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[56]  B Lehaney,et al.  Simulating hospital patient flows , 1998, The journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health.

[57]  Stoughton Bell,et al.  Improving outpatient clinic staffing and scheduling with computer simulation , 1996, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[58]  Sally C. Brailsford,et al.  A comparison of discrete event simulation and system dynamics for modelling health care systems , 2001 .

[59]  Ray J. Paul,et al.  Simulation in healthcare management: a soft approach (MAPIU) , 2004, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[60]  Charles D. Flagle.  Some Origins of Operations Research in the Health Services , 2002, Oper. Res..

[61]  Ray J. Paul,et al.  Visualization and Simulation: Two Sides of the Same Coin? , 2001, Simul..

[62]  B Lehaney,et al.  Simulation modelling for resource allocation and planning in the health sector , 1995, Journal of the Royal Society of Health.

[63]  Nathan C. Proudlove,et al.  OR and the challenge to improve the NHS: modelling for insight and improvement in in-patient flows , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[64]  M. Mackay,et al.  Modelling Variability in Hospital Bed Occupancy , 2005, Health care management science.

[65]  David M. Ferrin,et al.  Fixing the emergency department: a transformational journey with EDSIM , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, 2004..

[66]  Ruth Davies,et al.  Using simulation modelling for evaluating screening services for diabetic retinopathy , 2000, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[67]  Ray J. Paul,et al.  Computer simulation in healthcare decision making , 1999 .

[68]  William C. Johnson,et al.  Birth of a new maternity process , 1998, 1998 Winter Simulation Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36274).

[69]  Michael Pidd,et al.  Interconnected des models of emergency, outpatient, and inpatient departments of a hospital , 2007, 2007 Winter Simulation Conference.

[70]  F. P. Wieland,et al.  UNDERSTANDING ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE USING SIMULATION , 2006 .

[71]  P H Millard,et al.  Modelling hospital and social care bed occupancy and use by elderly people in an English health district , 2001, Health care management science.

[72]  Mark W. Isken,et al.  An Implicit Tour Scheduling Model with Applications in Healthcare , 2004, Ann. Oper. Res..

[73]  Giorgio Romanin-Jacur,et al.  Optimal planning of a pediatric semi-intensive care unit via simulation , 1987 .

[74]  J L Levy,et al.  Simulation analysis of an outpatient services facility. , 1989, Journal of the Society for Health Systems.

[75]  V. Smith-Daniels,et al.  Capacity Management in Health Care Services: Review and Future Research Directions* , 1988 .

[76]  Soemon Takakuwa,et al.  Modeling of patient flows in a large-scale outpatient hospital ward by making use of electronic medical records , 2007, 2007 Winter Simulation Conference.

[77]  Emre A. Veral,et al.  OUTPATIENT SCHEDULING IN HEALTH CARE: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE , 2003 .

[78]  P. H. Millard,et al.  A simulation modelling approach to evaluating length of stay, occupancy, emptiness and bed blocking in a hospital geriatric department , 1998, Health care management science.

[79]  Sally C. Brailsford,et al.  Emergency and on-demand health care: modelling a large complex system , 2004, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[80]  S. Chick,et al.  A taxonomy of model structures for economic evaluation of health technologies. , 2006, Health economics.