Using the Integration of Discrete Event and Agent-Based Simulation to Enhance Outpatient Service Quality in an...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Operations Research
• Simulation Modeling

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key healthcare quality index.
• Mixed registration systems in Asian healthcare lead to long outpatient waiting times.
• Reducing patient waiting time is crucial for improving healthcare services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply a hybrid simulation model (DES and ABS) to reduce patient waiting times in orthopedic departments.
• To analyze and optimize orthopedic department processes using a detailed simulation approach.
• To address the challenge of long patient waiting times in mixed-type healthcare registration systems.

Main Methods:

• Integration of discrete event simulation (DES) and agent-based simulation (ABS).
• Modeling patient behaviors using collected data for agent-based simulation.
• Applying the hybrid model to analyze and modify orthopedic department workflows.

Main Results:

• The total waiting time in the orthopedic department decreased from 1246.39 minutes to 847.21 minutes.
• The simulation approach provided a detailed analysis of department processes.
• The study demonstrated the effectiveness of the hybrid simulation in reducing waiting times.

Conclusions:

• The integrated DES and ABS model is effective in significantly reducing patient waiting times in orthopedic departments.
• This simulation approach offers a reliable method for analyzing and improving healthcare operational processes.
• Optimizing patient flow through advanced simulation can enhance patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.