Modeling patient flow operation of a US urban county hospital

System dynamics modeling methodology is well suited to address the constantly changing complexity that characterizes designing a modern urban hospital’s patient flow operation. It involves the development of simulation models that portray process flows and feedback that may be tested to find effective designs to overcome ineffective means of healthcare delivery. An urban county hospital (UCH) in Minnesota, USA is used to demonstrate a modular system dynamics modeling approach to simulate and optimize internal patient and process flow where major costs are also considered. This allows decision makers to visualize overall efficiencies through optimal bed capacity for peak patient flow of emergency and routine patients in a large healthcare delivery operation.