Using Computer Simulation for Surgical Care Process Reengineering in Hospitals

As healthcare costs increase, hospitals look for ways to contain costs and to achieve high efficiency at their operating facilities without sacrificing healthcare quality. Just as many businesses successfully reduce costs and gain competitive advantage by reengineering their business processes, hospitals reengineer the way certain healthcare processes are carried out to achieve cost containment and efficiency. This paper describes a case study undertaken at the National Hospital of Singapore. Using computer simulation, the study assessed the efficiency of the surgical care process and recommended ways to improve the efficiency of this process by varying available locations and resources involved in the process. The results will prove helpful to those who are considering reengineering and improving surgical care or other similar processes in hospitals.