Hospital Patient Wait Times : One of the most unpredictable environments in the Healthcare Industry is the Emergency Department, ED. We have all been there, spending countless hours in a waiting room only to finally receive medical attention in a hallway, or if you were lucky enough to make it to an examination room, you sat hopeless, wondering if a doctor even knew that you existed. Excessive patient wait times can be tolling on the patient both physically and emotionally; affecting the morale of the patient, doctors, nurses and medical staff. Let's take a look at some of the most common contributing factors (and their implications) which lead to one of America's biggest challenges in the healthcare community today; optimizing the ED to reduce patient wait times and increase overall efficiency.

Most improvement initiatives begin with a Value Stream mapping exercise. The value stream map takes into consideration one aspect or product of the operation and analyzes the effect of waste. With a single product with no variations that flows sequentially, a static value stream is adequate. But, when analyzing multiple product interactions, non sequential flows, and the interaction among multiple value streams, the static environment fails. Moreover, static streams do not take into consideration fluctuations in demand, workforce, and other dynamic operational constraints. This patented technology is the first of its kind on the market today.

Monte Carlo simulations can be used to study the variability of the model and determine the model behavior boundaries along with the expected performance. In simulation models that contain variable failure rates, variable processing rates at each stations, and variable inputs, Monte Carlo simulation runs can be a tremendous asset to any organization in order to understand the intricate behavior of the model environment. Simcad Pro created models benefit from the fact that Simcad Pro integrates all the tools required to run and analyze Monte Carlo simulations quickly and effectively. Coupled with the patented On-the-fly dynamic model updates, Simcad Pro provides an unprecedented simulation environment unmatched in the industry.

Within a Lab setting, the issues of excessive wait time, excess travel time, low equipment utilization, and increased operational cost daily are always present. Within the lab setting, it is important to improve efficiency and to reduce lead time. Simcad Pro is a sophisticated simulation engine that can be utilized to improve the overall efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness within a laboratory, which in turn increases possible workload and monetary gains.