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Development of a computer simulation for laboratory planning
1Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson 39216, USA.
Objective:
This study presents a description of a laboratory simulation model and how it can be used to aid in making management decisions for meeting laboratory personnel and instrumentation needs to provide the quality of health care desired.
Design:
Observations were made and data recorded about resources from the appropriate areas in the laboratory. The computer model was developed using a simulation application program. The simulation was then run in three different configurations to obtain data on how changes in the laboratory may affect resource usage.
Setting:
A 600-bed hospital laboratory was used as the model to collect initial data.
Main Outcome Measures:
Measurements were obtained for the effects of three different employee/instrument mixes to determine the effects of instrument utilization, employee workload, and specimen turn around time.
Results:
The outcomes measured showed varying degrees of resource utilization versus processing times of specimens.
Conclusion:
Simulation can be an effective means of providing information to aid the laboratory manager in making decisions about resource needs in the clinical laboratory.