Introducing Healthcare Professionals to the Power ofModeling and Simulation Tools

摘要

In manufacturing industries, and other business sectors,rnthe value of modeling and simulation tools is established,rndue to their long and successful track record of applicationsrnleading to significant improvements in performance. In thernhealth care industry, such tools have not been so widelyrnapplied, one reason being that many health carernprofessionals have not been exposed to the power of theserntools and are thus leery of both their value and even theirrnattempted use. This paper reports on preliminary workrnaimed at introducing health care professionals to a range ofrnmodeling tools in such a way that they become convinced ofrnthe value of these tools in tackling the very significantrnproblems the health system is facing. Once healthrnprofessionals become comfortable with the technologies,rncollaborative teams of systems analysts and health systemrnprofessionals have the potential to make significantrnimprovements in the delivery of health care.