Title: Coloured Petri net for modelling and improving emergency department based on the simulation model

Authors: Oussama Derni; Fatma Boufera; Mohamed Faycal Khelfi

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria ' Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University Mustapha Stambouli of Mascara, Mascara, Algeria ' Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Exact and Applied Sciences, University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, Oran, Algeria

Abstract: Emergency department (ED) is one of the most complex systems, due to its unstable environment and the stochastic characteristics of patient flows, pathologies, and limited resources, which lead to a long waiting time. Effective management of patient flows for 'ED' services has become a critical matter for most hospital supervisors. Many authors have tried to solve those issues based on different methodologies, with shared aims represented in the optimisation of patient care, by minimising patient waiting time at different levels in 'ED'. Modern studies mainly focus on limiting these issues by proposing a solution based on extending 'ED' resources. The case study was realised at the 'ED' of the hospital Chalabi Abdelkader, Mascara, Algeria. Then, the system was modelled by a coloured Petri net framework. Afterward, we performed simulations of numerous improvement scenarios. As a result, patient waiting times encountered in 'ED' were reduced, thus patient length of stay.

Keywords: emergency department; patient flow; system modelling; coloured Petri net; simulation; optimisation; waiting time; process modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2019.097717

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2019 Vol.14 No.1, pp.72 - 86

Received: 25 Jan 2018
Accepted: 25 Oct 2018
Published online: 05 Feb 2019 *

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