Issn Print: 1559-2332

Publication Date: 2006/10/01


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Simulated Patient Pathways.

Kevin Russell; Francis Maietta

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Excerpt

Simulation and modelling is a well-known business management discipline from management science and system operations research. In healthcare, simulation and modelling of processes has started to be more widely adopted, but generally focuses to manage, plan and forecast resource utilization. In the Information Technology industry, this category of systems is called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
However, greater efficiency for ‘the system’, does not necessarily translate into quality care for the patient. In a ‘patient service’ focused healthcare system, the primacy of an appropriate patient care pathway, through the healthcare system of services, would seem to be the first logical step towards a rational framework. A framework where available resources were applied to patient and best practice needs as a starting point, rather the often-neglected end. Such a framework would support a host of integrated systems and applications, to empower the staff’s collaborative design of patient pathways to best balance resources and quality. Clarifying an opaque historic legacy of ad hoc, unordered, mostly inaccessible information shared between various work groups would be the first benefit. Modelling patient care pathways, linked to resource allocation systems can provide staff (and patients) with a new insight into understanding labyrinth of care services.
With an initial letter of interest of support from the NHS Innovation Service, we’ve proposed a innovative learning solution addressing modelling patients’ care pathways to improve communication between clinicians and patients.
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