H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
Health Care Manag Sci. 2012 Mar;15(1):1-14. doi: 10.1007/s10729-011-9175-6. Epub 2011 Sep 7.
Hospitals have become increasingly interested in maximizing patient throughput and bed utilization in all units to improve efficiency. To study tradeoffs in blocking and system efficiency, a simulation model using a path-based approach is developed for an obstetric unit. The model focuses on patient flow, considering patient classification, blocking effects, time dependent arrival and departure patterns, and statistically supported distributions for length of stay (LOS). The model is applied to DeKalb Medical's Women's Center, a large obstetrics hospital in Atlanta, GA, to analyze the hospital's readiness for potential changes to patient mix and patient volume. A comparison of results predicted by the simulation model and actual performance after implementation of "swing" rooms is presented, suggesting the value of implementing "swing" rooms to balance bed allocation.
医院越来越关注如何在所有科室提高病床使用率和病人周转率以提高效率。为了研究阻塞和系统效率之间的权衡，我们开发了一个基于路径的模拟模型，用于研究产科病房。该模型主要关注病人流动情况，考虑病人分类、阻塞效应、随时间变化的入院和出院模式，以及对停留时间（LOS）的统计支持分布。该模型应用于佐治亚州亚特兰大的 DeKalb Medical 的妇女中心，以分析医院对病人构成和病人数量变化的准备情况。我们展示了模拟模型预测的结果和“周转”病房实施后的实际表现的比较，表明实施“周转”病房平衡床位分配是有价值的。
