A framework for operational modelling of hospital resources

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Operations Research
• Health Systems Engineering

Background:

• Hospital resource allocation (beds, operating theatres, nurses) is a significant public and political concern.
• Existing healthcare decision-making often lacks objective methods, highlighting the need for sophisticated operational models.
• Understanding patient flow dynamics is crucial for managing complex hospital systems with uncertainty and variability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a generic framework for modeling hospital resources based on user needs and real-world processes.
• To develop practical capacity planning and management tools for healthcare systems.
• To enhance objective decision-making in healthcare resource allocation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a generic framework for hospital resource modeling.
• Incorporated patient classification techniques for meaningful patient groupings.
• Utilized simulation models to process patient groups through hospital systems.
• Integrated these components into a hospital capacity tool.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed framework through an integrated hospital capacity tool.
• The framework successfully models hospital resources by considering patient complexity and flow.
• Patient classification and simulation provide a robust approach to capacity planning.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework offers a novel and effective approach to hospital capacity management.
• Integrating patient classification with simulation models enhances the objectivity of resource planning.
• This tool can support better decision-making for hospital resource provision.