Nickel Stefan, Schmidt Ursula-Anna
Institute of Operations Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany.
Qual Manag Health Care. 2009 Oct-Dec;18(4):326-38. doi: 10.1097/QMH.0b013e3181bee127.
To improve processes in hospitals, a case study was conducted at a German university hospital, which consists of more than 30 clinics and institutes on a large campus. The case study focused on the analysis of the patient flow and of machine utilization in the radiology department. Radiological devices are spread over the campus and located in different buildings. Patients with restricted mobility have to be transported by a vehicle transportation service across the campus. However, a vehicle transport can considerably influence the patients' punctual arrival to their appointments. The observations of the case study showed that the current organization of the radiology department results in high patient waiting times and machine idle times. The university hospital is planning to conduct significant organizational changes, especially with regard to the organization of the radiology department. This case study was conducted to support the planning processes of the clinic and to reveal and estimate optimization potential. To analyze the patient flow, a discrete event multicriteria simulation model was designed and implemented. By modeling different scenarios, it was possible to easily compare and assess distinct alternatives. This led to improved machine utilization and reduced waiting times.
为改进医院流程，在一家德国大学医院开展了一项案例研究，该医院在一个大校园内由30多个诊所和研究所组成。该案例研究聚焦于放射科患者流程和设备利用率的分析。放射设备分布在校园各处，位于不同的建筑中。行动不便的患者必须由车辆运输服务运送至校园各处。然而，车辆运输会极大影响患者准时赴约。案例研究的观察结果表明，放射科目前的组织架构导致患者等待时间长和设备闲置时间长。该大学医院正计划进行重大组织变革，尤其是在放射科的组织架构方面。开展此案例研究是为了支持诊所的规划流程，并揭示和评估优化潜力。为分析患者流程，设计并实施了一个离散事件多标准模拟模型。通过对不同场景进行建模，可以轻松比较和评估不同的方案。这提高了设备利用率并减少了等待时间。
