학술논문

A Discrete Event Simulation of Patient Flow in an Assisted Reproduction Clinic With the Integration of a Smart Health Monitoring System
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Access Access, IEEE. 12:46304-46318 2024
Subject
Aerospace
Bioengineering
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Computing and Processing
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Engineering Profession
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
General Topics for Engineers
Geoscience
Nuclear Engineering
Photonics and Electrooptics
Power, Energy and Industry Applications
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Transportation
Medical services
Monitoring
Hospitals
Organizations
Biological system modeling
Discrete event simulation
Digital twins
Patient monitoring
Smart healthcare
patient flow
digital twin
infertility treatment
smart health monitoring system
Language
ISSN
2169-3536
Abstract
In spite of continuous medical and technological advances, there are still treatments today, e.g., infertility treatments, that have not been addressed using remote monitoring due to the absence of reliable devices and smart health monitoring systems (SHMSs). A recent European Union report highlights the need for scientific investment in remote monitoring efficiency. To expedite cost-effective real-data experiments, the scientific community emphasizes complementing SHMSs with modeling and simulation techniques, allowing the projection of comprehensive treatment scenarios and informed decision-making based on synthetic data. In this paper, we conducted simulations of patient flow in two assisted reproduction clinics, with real data, applying discrete event simulation techniques. Four simulation scenarios were run for the Alicante clinic: (i) current system organization, (ii) using SHMS with the same resources, (iii) SHMS with reduced clinical staff, and (iv) SHMS with modified staff allocation. In a large-scale clinic in Madrid, two scenarios were simulated: (i) current system organization and (ii) SHMS with the same resources. The simulation of different scenarios enabled (i) the identification of a bottleneck in an ultrasound scanning area in the current system’s organization; (ii) modelling of the relocation of the clinical staff within the clinic; and (iii) a proposal of the most optimal scenario with SHMS. Comparing the obtained results, we showed a reduction in the workload of the receptionists, in the ultrasound and blood collection areas and finally reduced the workload of physicians with first half and the second half of the working day schedules in both clinics.