Service redesign using simulation

Background

Service redesign is an approach to improving the outcomes, the interaction between service provider and customers and the customer’s experience by changing service features.
It consists in planning and reorganizing people, infrastructure, information and material components of a service.
Service redesign in healthcare is an approach to support the improvement of the patient’s experience and outcomes of care by understanding and managing patient demand and queues, healthcare organisation and Capacity and care activities.
Service redesign requires appropriate methods and tools such as simulation to represent the current service, the possible changes/improvements and their consequences.
We are proposing in this module to explore service redesign using simulation as it is easier to understand and to justify to management and customers and requires less simplification, and hence captures more of the characteristics of the real health and social care system.

Aims/Learning objectives

At the end of this module the participants should be able to:

  • Use process flow diagrams in simulation modelling;
  • Develop a (Discrete-Event) simulation and explain the organizational and/or health care implications thereof;
  • Use a simulation model to explore a range of ‘what-if’ scenarios;
  • Understanding the difficulties in input modelling and output analysis;
  • Be familiar with a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) software, e.g. SIMUL8

Syllabus

  • Introduction to service redesign (in health care)
  • Introduction to DES
  • Building a conceptual model
  • Simulation model verification, validation and input modelling
  • Analysis and interpretation of outputs
  • Practical DES exercise using SIMUL8

Case material

Case studies of pathway modelling and service redesign, e.g.

  • Modelling a chest pain one-stop clinic
  • Using A&E data to help reconfigure emergency services

Course delivery

In general each module of the course is associated with one day’s face-to-face training in our Central London premises supported by additional material and resources. Distance learning might be considered in the future depending on need.
We can also deliver customized in-house courses.

Module Format

For face-to-face delivery, a mixed structure is generally adopted. There is a blend of sessions introducing the topics and techniques of interest and use examples to illustrate key themes, and of sessions engaging participants in interactive and hands-on experience of tools and techniques drawing on case material of direct relevance to commissioning or provision of services.

Pre-requisites

Overall in order to take part in this module, potential participants will need mathematical skills to include simple algebraic manipulation (GCSE grade B or better) and some understanding of basic statistical techniques. No particular IT skills are required.

Software Support

The software needed for this module is SIMUL8 to help participants understand simulation concepts.

Contacts

Prof. Thierry Chaussalet: HSCMG@westminster.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3506 4575

 

 

What is Service Redesign?

A service process should be designed to meet the needs of the company’s customers. However, if the company fails to deliver the required service, the service process (or a part of it) should be rethought.
Service redesign is an approach to improving the service quality and adapting the company to the changing environment (e.g. varying demand) by reorganising components of a service, e.g. people, infrastructure…

How useful is service redesign to health and social care services?

Service redesign is important to support the improvement of the outcomes of care, the interaction between care service provider (e.g. nursing and medical staff, social workers) and patients and the patient’s experience. Examples: Improvement of patient pathways by reducing bottlenecks; Improvement of referrals; Management of admissions to/discharges from hospital; Improvement of the quality and responsiveness of care…

What techniques can be used for service redesign?

Service redesign requires appropriate qualitative/quantitative methods and tools to represent the current service, the possible changes/improvements and their consequences, e.g. Simulation, Process mapping, Lean thinking, Six sigma…

Using simulation for service redesign?

Simulation modelling enables the user to:

  • Explore new policies and test various designs (e.g. change the number of care units, increasing or decreasing the number of staff…) without financial commitment and disturbing the real system;
  • Identify critical activities and resources, and discover the cause associated to the delays (e.g. patient waiting time);
  • Etc.

To learn more about service redesign using simulation, REGISTER NOW to the Service Redesign using Simulation short course !
 

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