MODELING AND SIMULATING HOSPITAL OPERATIONS IN A 3D ENVIRONMENT

The use of dashboards to aid hospital decision makers in managerial and clinical decisions is well documented in the literature, though few broach the challenging subject of combining cost measurement with user satisfaction and building layout optimization. This paper presents an innovative dashboard in a 3D environment, providing decision makers with simulation capabilities using agent based simulation, allowing examination of their facility and the impact of policy, process and layout changes on patients and finances. An example is presented for an Emergency Department, wherein the presented dashboard revealed that the costs of constructing additional triage rooms would produce no benefit to patients; rather, a change in the process would be more beneficial compared with the existing situation. It is concluded that the developed dashboard allows users to make comparisons between multiple scenarios and visualize data in an intuitive format, allowing for decision makers to optimize their facility and operations.