A human behaviour-based simulation model for resource allocation at a multi-specialty outpatient clinic

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Improving the performance of healthcare organisations and implementing management tools successfully depends heavily on understanding human behaviour. As a core behavioural dimension, stress affects outcomes in a variety of related decision-making and performance contexts, including resource and capacity planning. In this regard, this study proposes a human behaviour-based simulation approach for resource allocation in multi-speciality outpatient clinics. First, a stress model was developed for physicians, as the most critical resource in outpatient settings. Then, the resulting relationships were integrated into a discrete event simulation framework. To prove the relevance of our approach, we applied it to a case study conducted in a public multi-speciality outpatient clinic. Multiple “what-if” scenarios were tested and compared to the optimal exam room allocation. Findings show that, in contrast to a basic model, the proposed stress-driven model allocates effective numbers of exam rooms, setting physicians in their optimal stress zone, thereby leading to better performance.