SIM-PFED: A Simulation-Based Decision Making Model of Patient Flow for Improving Patient Throughput Time in Emergency Department

Healthcare sectors face multiple threats, and the hospital emergency department (ED) is one of most crucial areas. ED plays a key role in promoting hospitals' goals enhancing service efficiency. complex system due to stochastic behavior patient arrivals, unpredictability care required by patients, department's nature. Simulations are effective tools for analyzing optimizing operations. Although existing simulation models have substantially improved performance terms ensuring satisfaction treatment services, many deficiencies continue exist addressing challenge ED, namely, long throughput time. The time issue affected causative factors, such as waiting time, length stay, decision-making. This research aims develop new model flow (SIM-PFED) address reported SIM-PFED introduces process on basis newly proposed operational combining discrete event agent-based applying multi-attribute decision-making method, technique order preference similarity ideal solution. Experiments were performed three actual datasets assess effectiveness SIM-PFED. Experimental results revealed superiority over other alternative reducing consuming less having shorter stay. findings also demonstrated helping decision-makers select best scenarios be implemented minimal while being cost effective.