Sung J. Shim

Simulation for emergency care process reengineering in hospitals

Purpose – Using computer simulation, this paper seeks to model the emergency care process in a hospital and evaluate the effects of some proposed changes to improve patient wait times in the process.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based upon a case study conducted at the hospital and uses historical data provided by the hospital to simulate the emergency care process.Findings – The simulation results demonstrate that the changes proposed can shorten patient wait times in the emergency care process. The proposed changes involve adding another payment station and a new short‐stay ward in the process. Based upon the results, the paper supports the implementation of the changes proposed.Research limitations/implications – A couple of limitations are recognized in this paper. First, the simulation does not consider varying the capacity of resources and locations involved in the emergency care process. Second, the simulation does not consider patients by clinical disciplines in which they are treated...

Simulating Staffing Needs for Surgical Instrument Distribution in Hospitals

Timely and accurate delivery of surgical instruments to operating rooms is critical for success in surgical operations in hospitals. The National Hospital of Singapore was facing several problems in the process of surgical instrument distribution on ad hoc orders from operating rooms. To solve the problems, the Hospital management considered adopting a new process of surgical instrument distribution on ad hoc orders that involves staffing new healthcare assistants for delivery of surgical instruments to operating rooms. Using computer simulation, this study assessed the efficiency of the new process and recommended the optimal number of healthcare assistants needed for delivery of surgical instruments on ad hoc orders, at which healthcare assistants as well as surgical instruments could be most efficiently utilized. The results show that computer simulation is an effective tool supporting decisions on staffing needs for surgical instrument distribution in hospitals.

Centralization of Intensive Care Units: Process Reengineering in a Hospital

Centralization of intensive care units (ICUs) is a concept that has been around for several decades and the OECD countries have led the way in adopting this in their operations. Singapore Hospital was built in 1981, before the concept of centralization of ICUs took off. The hospitals ICUs were never centralized and were spread out across eight different blocks with the specialization they were associated with. Coupled with the acquisitions of the new concept of centralization and its benefits, the hospital recognizes the importance of having a centralized ICU to better handle major disasters. Using simulation models, this paper attempts to study the feasibility of centralization of ICUs in Singapore Hospital, subject to space constraints. The results will prove helpful to those who consider reengineering the intensive care process in hospitals.

Selection and diversification of market segments for robotics products

Purpose – Examines the selection and diversification of market segments for robotics products with respect to application areas and customer sectors.Design/methodology/approach – This study attempted to investigate the selection and diversification of market segments by 50 robotics firms in the US with respect to application areas and customer sectors that they serve. Based upon the concept of strategic groups, we classified those robotics firms into three distinct strategic groups along the dimensions of application area diversification and customer sector diversification. The three strategic groups were identified as high, moderate, and low diversification groups, with respect to both application areas and customer sectors.Findings – The results show that robotics firms vary in their selection of application areas and customer sectors, and more importantly in the degree of diversification of application areas and customer sectors. Also, three distinct strategic groups are observed among them, based upon...

Using computer simulation for optimal staffing: A case for the patient registration process of a hospital

BACKGROUND Some healthcare managers use computer simulation to assist with staffing. As staffing actions are usually slow to evolve and long term in nature, computer simulation can provide the opportunity to evaluate different alternatives at substantially lower costs with fewer risks. OBJECTIVE Using computer simulation, this paper seeks to determine the optimal number and allocation of clerks involved in the patient registration process of a hospital. METHODS This paper is based on a case study conducted in a hospital and uses historical data provided by the hospital in simulating the patient registration process. RESULTS The simulation results indicate that computer simulation can be an effective decision supporting tool in modeling the patient registration process and evaluating the effects of changes in the number and allocation of clerks in the process. CONCLUSIONS Based upon a case study applying real-world data, the results of this paper would be beneficial to those who consider utilizing computer simulation for staffing decisions.

A simulation study of RFID system for improving patient discharge process in a hospital

A hospital in Singapore considers deploying radio-frequency identification (RFID) system and setting up a new discharge lounge to improve the patient discharge process. This study uses computer simulation in modeling and comparing the current process without the RFID system and the discharge lounge and the new process with the RFID system and the discharge lounge, and assesses the impact of the RFID system and the discharge lounge on the process in terms of resource utilization and times taken in the process. The results could prove helpful to those who consider deploying RFID system for the patient discharge process in hospitals or other similar processes.

Internet Usage Trend and Postal Service Performance in Australia

This study examines several important factors of Internet usage and postal service performance in Australia from 2006 to 2010, using data from secondary sources. The results on Internet usage indicate increasing trends in domain name registrations, Internet user population, Internet usage duration, and e-commerce value. On the other hand, the results on postal service performance show stagnating trends in mail volumes, revenue, pre-tax profit, rate of return, and labor productivity growth during the same period. While we need more data to investigate systematically any causal relationships between the factors of Internet usage and those of postal service performance, the results taken together suggest that the increasing trend of Internet usage had some negative impacts on postal service performance. This study is expected to help understand the trends of Internet usage as associated with the performance of postal service and set the stage for the future of postal service in Australia and other countries.

Predicting bed requirement for a hospital using regression models

High hospital bed occupancy levels have resulted into a shortage of beds to meet increasing demand. This paper describes a bed prediction model in aiding hospital planners to anticipate bed demand so as to manage resources efficiently. Through the regression models, it was found that the number of weekly mean occupied beds is related to both the rainfall and the data on Dengue cases as provided by the Ministry of Health. The regression models performed well for predicting average class B2 and class C occupied beds in the following week. Previous week¿s mean occupied beds, emergency admissions numbers, A&E attendances and special events on the week were found to be predictors of bed occupancy in class B2 and class C wards.