Towards a Hospital-wide Simulation Framework

Abstract

In a hospital, there are many dependencies between different resources, processes, and departments. When changes are made to part, it is often very difficult to estimate the consequences for the rest of the hospital and it is unclear how far they stretch. While there is a tendency towards more integrated planning in hospitals, analysing the effects and benefits, especially for the whole hospital, is difficult. The aim of our research project is to design and build a simulation framework for a complete hospital including all departments, processes, and resources that allows for a hospital-wide analysis. By using a container-based approach, the integration of various simulation models for different departments and their interactions is possible. A simulation-wide event calendar and clock align the events and makes sure that the interaction between the individual sub-models is well-coordinated and stable. A first case study targets Tauranga Hospital in New Zealand.