Simulation as a Decision Support Tool - Estimating the Impacts of using RFID Technologies within Biobanks

The costs and benefits of introducing auto-identification are difficult to evaluate. The Return On Investment (ROI) may be calculated on manufacturing environments but in some service providing systems, like hospitals, it may be very hard and inaccurate to judge the relevance of a new configuration only through financial considerations. New information and communication technologies and devices appear rapidly. This study aims at quantifying the benefits of introducing new devices at different levels in a complex socio-technical system: a biobank (storage, transformation and exchanges of biological samples) using a discrete event dynamic systems simulation model as a quality measurement tool. After introducing the context, we will describe pertinent measurement possibilities adapted to the Supply Chain for Health services, and particularly to biobanks, and the way we implemented the simulation model used to get the results summarized in the last section, before concluding. The originalities of this paper are the process modeling, designed to be easily modified to test many different configurations and scenarios, and the quality indicators that are particularly adapted to health