A patient flow simulator for healthcare management education.

ABSTRACT

Simulation and analysis of patient flow can contribute to the safe and efficient functioning of a healthcare system, yet it is rarely incorporated into routine healthcare management, partially due to the technical training required. This paper introduces a free and open source patient flow simulation software tool that enables training and experimentation with healthcare management decisions and their impact on patient flow. Users manage their simulated hospital with a simple web-based graphical interface. The model is a stochastic discrete event simulation in which patients are transferred between wards of a hospital according to their treatment needs. Entry to each ward is managed by queues, with different policies for queue management and patient prioritisation per ward. Users can manage a simulated hospital, distribute resources between wards and decide how those resources should be prioritised. Simulation results are immediately available for analysis in-browser, including performance against targets, patient flow networks and ward occupancy. The patient flow simulator, freely available at https//khp-informatics.github.io/patient-flow-simulator, is an interactive educational tool that allows healthcare students and professionals to learn important concepts of patient flow and healthcare management.