Preview

Simulation Model for Emergency Department

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3817 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Simulation Model for Emergency Department
SIMULATION MODEL FOR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

ABSTRACT

The paper presents a comprehensive research study on the Simulation Model for Emergency Department. The study was conducted in the Emergency Department (ED) at The Ohio State Medical Center. A simulation model was developed using Arena (7.0) to model the process flow of patients in order to analyze the ED System performance. A Statistical Design of Experiments study was performed to study the significance/ non significance levels in order to improve ED performance.

Key Words: Emergency Department, Simulation, Work Flow.

1 - INTRODUCTION

The Emergency Department (ED) at Ohio State Medical Center specializes in the treatment of critically ill and seriously injured patients and possess a comprehensive array of the most up to date diagnostic and treatment services coupled with a highly trained and experienced health care staff. It was observed that the overall time patients spent in the Emergency Department of the hospital was significantly higher (500 minutes) than the benchmarked time for the patient length of stay (LOS). This has an adverse impact on patient throughput in the ED. If the patient length of stay in the ED is high, then the waiting times for new incoming patients in the ED is high and the in-process patient volumes who have received partial medical service in the ED is also high. These factors contribute to a significant decline in the ED system performance.

The objective of our research study was to analyze and evaluate ED system performance. The research study was conducted in several phases. The first phase involved construction of a detailed flow chart of the “As Is” ED system. This enabled us to understand the work flow of patients, physicians and nurses in the ED system. The second phase involved construction of a detailed simulation model using Arena (7.0). The simulation model calculates the performance evaluation measures such as total patient length

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Problem: Patients with potentially life-threating injuries and illnesses are waiting for over an hour for treatment in Emergency Department at AMH! Although long wait times seemed to be readily excuses by many physicians due to complexity of managing emergency room and processes and clinical staff, it is still unacceptable for the patients.…

    • 1789 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The emergency department may experience the most diverse events. Reaction from staff must be prompt and with continuity of the team. The ER staffs have the necessary certificates to obtain employment. Management creates teams who connect with each other. Due to the extreme risk of the ER department, “…teamwork is a critical component of a safe health care system.” (Weaver, Salas, Lyons, Lazzara, Rosen, Diaz, Granados, Grim, Augenstein, Birnbach, & King p369, 2010). Excess errors in immediate treatment, for example trauma, will destroy the trust in the community. Avoidance of persons needing treatment will bring financial disaster to the entire facility. Litigation will increase bringing the facility to bankruptcy.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the advantages of the electronic health record are to automatically share patient data between different organizations and facilities. It will access multiple transmissions of patient record and improve the quality of patient care and safety. EHR provides a computer program application for decision support systems and multipurpose functioning using an integrated analytic process. The healthcare workers benefit from using this evidence based system. There is disadvantage to EHR system it decrease productivity because it time consuming entering data into the database. Another potential disadvantage is the start up cost which can be expensive. It can be also challenging because most healthcare organization works on a budget and if there no additional revenue available makes it difficult.…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    St. Vincent’s Medical Center, a 501 bed facility located in Jacksonville, Florida, provides general medical and surgical care to the North Florida Region. St. Vincent’s admits over 26,000 patients annually. The average occupancy rate is approximately 84% with the Emergency Department (ED) peeking at 100% for approximately 4-12 hours daily. The hospital is struggling with availability of bed space. This shortage of available beds creates a bottleneck in the ED on high census days. Bottlenecks are created in the ED when there is a shortage of inpatient beds to place admitted ED patients. Thus, patient flow, or throughput, is becoming more and more important.…

    • 2916 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    A study by the CDC showed that approximately 70 % of emergency department visits can be treated in a typical primary care or urgent care setting and another study by National Center for Policy Analysis demonstrated that only 13% of patients that sought treatment in the emergency department were clinically appropriate. Reasons for non-emergency visits to the ED range from access issues to primary care providers (wait times, no primary care provider assigned, or no insurance) to a lack of knowledge that they could have been treated at an urgent care or primary care setting.…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Improve Er Wait Times

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Across the country, the average emergency room wait time is now 222 minutes- that’s 3 hours, 42 minutes. (Costello, 2006) My mom has been sick recently and has been in and out of the hospital. When she is not feeling well, we will sit home and debate whether or not to go to emergency because we don’t want to wait for hours. This paper will discuss ways in which emergency room wait times can be reduced by using technology to improve efficiencies and speed up patient processing, treating patients based on the seriousness of the injury and improvement of the overall customer service and management of the hospital flow.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    History of Ems

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    History of EMS EMSP 1338-Introduction to Advanced Practice Central Texas College December 5 2010 History of EMS Abstract The history of emergency medicine dates back many centuries. As the years pass EMS not only progressed in prehospital care, but in the way patients are transported to the hospital in emergeny situations. Along with the progression of the transportation and prehospital care of patients, the EMS profession has come a long way in its regulations too.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    A visit to the emergency department (ED) is usually associated with negative thoughts by most people. It creates preconceived images of overcrowded waiting rooms and routine long waits for treatment (Jarousse, 2011). From 1996 to 2006, ED visits increased annually from 90.3 million to 119.2 million (32% increase). During this same time period, the number of EDs has declined by 186 facilities creating the age old lower supply and greater demand concept (Crane & Noon, 2011). There are many contributing factors that have led to an increase in ED visits. A few of these key drivers include lack of primary care access, rising of the uninsured population, dwindling mental health services, and the growing elderly population (Clinical Advisory Board, 2008). In response to these issues, hospital administrators are challenged to evaluate patient flow and identify opportunities to improve process strategies within the ED. This is where throughput evolved in healthcare and became the new buzzword for patient flow. In healthcare, throughput refers to the ED process that impacts patient flow (Jarousse 2011). The purpose of this concept analysis will be to explore throughput and discuss how it is critical for survival in the ED and beneficial to the overall financial success of the hospital.…

    • 2517 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    We’ve all heard horror stories of the outrageous wait times in emergency rooms. According to a recent study done by Press & Ganey in 2007, the average time a patient spends in the ED is 4 hours, compared to 3.7 hours in 2006. What many patients don’t realize is they are seen in order of priority, which includes walk-ins. So for example, if you have a sprained ankle, you are considered a low…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pdsa Cycle

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Unfortunately Emergency Departments have little control over the amount and type of patients arriving in their hospitals. Many facilities are experiencing increased wait times and overflowing hallways with patients who have been admitted to the emergency department. These are increasingly troublesome issues that result from increased patient demand at a point in time when the number of emergency departments has declined and hospital inpatient capacity has decreased as well. This is why managing the flow of patients through their care is vital in preventing patient crowding, patient safety issues and quality of care.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leadership Vision

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What is an organization without a vision? The vision objective puts the organizations values and goals into simplified terms every member of the team can understand and share. The same holds true for our own personal goals and aspirations. We should develop our own personal vision statements to ensure we are staying current in the growing changes of nursing and healthcare technology/techniques, to educate and lead in the most efficient means possible. My vision revolves around the mission statement, “To provide the highest level of care, one patient at a time, with meticulous attention to quality of care; serving with compassion and a dedication to improving health awareness and literacy among patients”. While simple and direct, I feel that this statement best summarizes my leadership vision for the future of nursing and institutional healthcare.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The evolution of health care information system has been proficient, effective, and patient-focused technologies have an influence on the way health evolve over the years. East Orange General Hospital has a lifetime of learning in keeping up with the new trends of technology. EOGH have surpassed the decade old information system of paper charts and became a quick study in advancement of information technology. The changes in the health care information systems from 20 years ago have put value on the system by improving patient safety and confidentiality. “The broad spectrum of clinic information has made a way for hospitals to integrate with administrative applications of care” (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2009 “p” 1). East Orange General Hospital have the use of information technology so the increase of efficiency and patient-centered care to possible with the right measures. Comparing the health IT systems to 20 years in the past has shown the comprehensive strive in implementing and computerizing different aspects of care management. Delivering information in today’s time has shown the function of the new trends of operating…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ems System

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Emergency Medical Services system is a complex world incorporating the latest techniques and ideas in healthcare with emergency response, technical rescue, and efficient and safe transport to definitive care. Through hundreds of years of progression and developments in both healthcare and training, EMS today has come to be an efficient and truly life-saving service.…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our theoretical model suggests that the length of stay for patients with critical illnesses are much more improved at teaching hospitals than in non-teaching hospitals. This metric is typically reported as an average since it assumes that all patients are equally ill. As a matter of fact, every patient is unique and may require specialized or advanced care and surgeries. The ability to predict length of stay can substantially improve a teaching hospital's capacity utilization, while ensuring that resources are available to meet the health care needs of the community (Omachonu VK) . Undoubtedly, teaching hospitals outrival the competition when it comes to treating the most critical patients. As healthcare costs increase each year, hospital officials and policymakers are highly motivated to search for ways to increase patient care and efficiency while continuing to find new innovative initiatives to keep costs…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays