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G. Wurzer, W Lorenz, M. Rößler, I. Hafner, B. Glock, M. Bruckner, N. Popper:
"MODYPLAN: Early-Stage Hospital Simulation based on Treatment Chains";
Talk: MATHMOD 2015 - 8th Vienna International Conference on Mathematical Modelling, Vienna; 2015-02-18 - 2015-02-20; in: "Proceedings of MathMod 2015", IFAC Online Conference Paper Archive, MathMod 2015 (2015), 6 pages.

Discrete-event simulation of hospitals typically specifies flow by means of a process graph
through which patients are routed. While this is generally fine for models in which processes are clearly
defined, e.g. smaller units such as emergency departments, it falls short of capturing the fact that a patient
can in principle go from one unit to any other unit if medical procedure requires it. This problem
becomes even more evident when modeling a whole hospital, at which level specifying each individual
treatment through directed edges and nodes becomes unviably complex. In the past three years, we have
been developing a combined hospital simulation/space design tool in which processes are defined
individually by patient, as sequence of visited units imported from the Hospital Information System
(treatment chains). The major advantage of this approach lies in the fact that we can now design a future
space layout in which assumed capacities (staffing, equipment, required space) can be tested against the
recorded patient volume, using an Agent-Based Simulation to re-enact each treatment chain. In contrast
to other hospital simulations, this approach targets early stages of architectural conception, during which
the actual building structure is elaborated. Using the method, we can compare and contrast different
layouts during that stage, making simulation a driver for design rather than a tool for late optimization
within the final floor plan.

Hospital planning, design tool, treatment chain, Agent-Based Simulation, space layout planning.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_237765.pdf