Hospital Simulation and Optimization Project
Course: Simulation in Management Decision-Making (BUS 440)
Executive Summary
This report examines the Rocksoft City Hospital (RCH) using simulation and process analysis, with a focus on significant pressures felt by the Emergency Department (ED). Consideration of the other departments of the hospital were also important given that the patients in the ED compete with those from outpatient imaging and the scheduled elective surgery center for medical personnel, examination and operating rooms, imaging and laboratory services. However, modeling was limited to the scope of what would be in the ED’s control.
Given the team’s lack of direct access and experience with the internal processes at RCH, core assumptions were made and clearly outlined to facilitate effective analysis and recommendation. Notably, it is assumed that only the ED patients require immediate diagnostic results and that operating rooms come with a surgeon for whom the cost and availability are beyond the scope of our model.
Our recommendation is that RCH increase the number of ED Doctors on the floor. When simulating an additional ED doctor scheduled for the full day, there was a material decrease in utilization which reduced the bottleneck. Furthermore, the hospital should consider adjusting scheduled surgeries to occur during lower arrival rate time for ED patients as a means of minimizing the overlap between ED patients and patients from other areas of RCH. This would optimize the processing time of the highest priority patients and reduce chances of patient expiry or leaving without being seen (LWBS).
The future of quality health care is more important than ever. Our simulation model and analysis demonstrate that the current and future challenges the hospital faces can be overcome with strategic changes to operations. With a focus on effective and timely resource allocation and process optimization, RCH can expect improved operations, reduced costs, and increased patient satisfaction with the quality of care.