Improving patient timeliness of care through efficient outpatient clinic layout design using data-driven simulation and optimisation

Vahab Vahdat, Amir Namin, Rana Azghandi and Jacqueline Griffin

Health Systems, 2019, vol. 8, issue 3, 162-183

Abstract: With greater demand for outpatient services, the importance of patient-centric clinic layout design that improves timeliness of patient care has become more elucidated. In this paper, a novel simulation-optimisation (SO) framework is proposed focusing on the physical and process flows of patients in the design of a paediatric orthopaedic outpatient clinic. A discrete-event simulation model is used to estimate the frequency of movements between clinic units. The resulting information is utilised as input to a mixed integer programming (MIP) model, optimising the clinic layout design. In order to solve the MIP model, Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), a metaheuristic approach enhanced with several heuristics is utilised. Finally, the optimisation model outputs are evaluated with the simulation model. The results demonstrate that improvements to the quality of the patient experience can be achieved through incorporating SO methods into the clinic layout design process.

Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/20476965.2018.1561160 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:thssxx:v:8:y:2019:i:3:p:162-183

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/thss20

DOI: 10.1080/20476965.2018.1561160

Access Statistics for this article

Health Systems is currently edited by Sally Brailsford

More articles in Health Systems from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().