Discrete event simulation for problem solving in the context of an emergency department

Letícia Ali Figueiredo Ferreira; Igor Leão dos Santos; Ana Carla de Souza Gomes dos Santos; Augusto da Cunha Reis

doi:10.14807/ijmp.v11i5.1286

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Published: Sep 1, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14807/ijmp.v11i5.1286

Keywords:

Emergency Department Discrete Event Simulation Brazil

Letícia Ali Figueiredo Ferreira

CEFET/RJ

Igor Leão dos Santos

CEFET/RJ

Ana Carla de Souza Gomes dos Santos

IFRJ - Nilopolis CEFET/RJ

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6205-7454

Augusto da Cunha Reis

CEFET/RJ

Abstract

Emergency departments (ED) are responsible for the immediate care and stabilization of patients in critical health conditions. Several factors have caused overcrowding in the emergency care system, but the variability of patient arrival and the triage process requires special attention. The criticality of these components and their configuration directly impact the waiting times, length of stay and quality of service, being the subject of several studies. So, this paper aims to understand by means of Discrete Event Simulation how ED works with the variation of patient arrival and how this variation highlights the bottlenecks of the triage process. Varying the patient arriving interval between 0.1 and 7.6 in a 4-hour scenario, the system saturation point was established in β = 1.1. Besides, with the variation in the number of triages points, a considerable decrease in the total length of stay spent and the waiting times were noticed, mainly when there was two triage points operating simultaneously.

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Issue

Vol. 11 No. 5 (2020): Independent Journal of Management & Production (Special Edition IFLOG)

Section

IFLOG

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Author Biographies

Letícia Ali Figueiredo Ferreira, CEFET/RJ

She is a master's student in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Federal Center for Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca (CEFET/RJ) in the Healthcare 4.0 line of research and a collaborating researcher at Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio de Janeiro, Campus Nilopolis as member of the Research Group of Industrial Production Management in the lean operations line of research. She graduated in Industrial Engineering at the Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (2018) and in Science and Technology (2016) at the same university. Her undergraduate process was partly held at Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD, USA) as she took courses related to Industrial and Systems Engineering after participating in the Science Without Borders Program (2014-2015).

Igor Leão dos Santos, CEFET/RJ

He is an Industrial Engineer (2011) by the Polytechnic School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Specialist (2013) in Production Management Technologies by the Educational Society of Santa Catarina (SOCIESC). Master (2013) and Ph.D. (2017) in Computer Science by the Post-Graduation Program in Computer Science (PPGI) of UFRJ. Works as Adjunct Professor at the graduation course in Production Engineering from the Federal Center of Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca (CEFET-RJ), Campus Maracanã. Research interests: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN); Internet of Things (IoT); Cloud of Sensors (CoS); Edge / Fog Computing; Production Management; Industry 4.0.

Ana Carla de Souza Gomes dos Santos, IFRJ - Nilopolis CEFET/RJ

She is a Ph.D. student in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Federal Center for Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca (CEFET/RJ) in the lean healthcare line of research and a professor at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio de Janeiro, campus Nilopolis. She is master’s in industrial engineering by UENF (2016), Project Management Specialist by FGV (2015), and a bachelor’s in industrial engineering by Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora Educational Center (2012). Her general field of research and experience is in Industrial Engineering, focusing on Production and Quality Management.

Augusto da Cunha Reis, CEFET/RJ

He is a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from PUC-RJ. Master’s in industrial engineering and graduated in Business Administration from PUC-RJ. Professor of the Industrial Engineering Department at the Federal Center for Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca (CEFET/RJ) with experience and focus on the following subjects: supply chain management, product variable personnel management, health logistics and reverse logistics. As a teacher, he also worked at SENAI, SENAC, UCAM, and UNIFESO. Participation in master’s and Doctorate Stands (UFF, UFRJ, PUC-Rio, and Unirio).

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Discrete event simulation for problem solving in the context of an emergency department