Development of a simulation environment to study emergency department information technology

Area of Science:

• Healthcare simulation
• Human-computer interaction
• Emergency medicine

Background:

• Emergency departments (EDs) face challenges in patient tracking and caregiver efficiency.
• Existing patient tracking systems require robust evaluation methods.
• Simulation offers a controlled environment to study complex healthcare operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a simulation architecture for a patient tracking system simulator.
• To evaluate caregiver performance in emergency departments using simulation.
• To describe components for assessing electronic patient tracking system displays.

Main Methods:

• Developed a simulation of an ED electronic whiteboard using discrete event simulation.
• Integrated dynamic process data from an actual ED for realistic parameters.
• Incorporated clinical information and demographic data for simulator patients.

Main Results:

• Created a patient-tracking system display simulation with underlying software and various display types.
• The simulation includes realistic elements like phone calls and pagers.
• The system can evaluate how display parameters and ED operations affect user performance.

Conclusions:

• The modular design allows adaptation for diverse studies and interface features.
• Discrete event simulation enables iterative design and testing of patient tracking technologies.
• The methodology facilitates the assessment of human performance measures in ED settings.