An approach to hospital planning and design using discrete event simulation

Recent reports have established the need for change in the US health system. Building projects can play an important role in enabling change to support organizational objectives. The current major investment in hospital construction in the US provides an opportunity to improve health service. Planning and design of hospitals generally uses benchmarks and experience without rigorous analysis of processes, resources and facility requirements. This paper considers an improved approach to planning and design of hospitals by using Discrete Event Simulation (DES) to enable improvement in the quality and productivity of health services and an improved workplace environment for staff.

1 INTRODUCTION

The subject of this paper is the use of Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) as a decision making tool in the planning and design of hospital buildings. The basis of the paper is a review of the literature on the major issues of the US health care system and the role that building projects can play in enabling organizational change. A review of current hospital planning and design and use of DES provides the basis for describing an improved process for design of health services and facilities using DES.