CONTENT
As the healthcare industry looks to provide higher quality and more cost effective care, Industrial and Systems Engineers are playing a more prominent role. Discrete event simulation, one of the simulation tools implemented to test new systems without physically changing the current process, allows users to test different options with real data before a decision is made. Health systems can use simulation to answer questions about changes to processes, configurations or staffing levels. In healthcare facility planning, simulation can be used to determine the impact of different layouts and new workflows before knocking down a single wall, saving valuable time and money. During this session, we will review this topic and delve into a case study detailing how the use of simulation modeling aided a health system in enhancing operating room efficiencies.