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A simulation model for bioterrorism preparedness in an emergency room

Published: 03 December 2006 Publication History

Abstract

The use of biological agents as weapons can cause disease and deaths in sufficient numbers that can greatly impact a city or region. Consequently, concerns about the preparedness and efficiency of healthcare systems for bioterrorism events have increased dramatically among hospital managements. This paper presents an innovative and sophisticated computer simulation model of the emergency room (ER) at the hospital featured in this study. The objective was to analyze patient flow throughout the treatment process, assess the utilization of ER resources, evaluate the impact of a hypothetical bioterrorist attack, and determine the appropriate resource and staff levels for such a bioterrorism scenario. The recommended staffing strategy at two bottlenecked areas of the hospital's treatment facility would allow a significant reduction in patients' total time in the ER and an improvement in the utilization of resources. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to investigate the effect of changes in input parameters.

References

[1]
Koehler, J. 2001. Communicable Disease Control, Epidemiology & Immunization Section, Public Health -- Seattle & King County. Surveillance and Preparedness for Agents of Biological Terrorism (presentation).
[2]
Law, A. M., and W. D. Kelton. 2000. Simulation Modeling and Analysis, 3 rd ed., McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
[3]
Oh, P. Y., R. Zhang, C. Mode, and S. Jurgens. 2004. Information Technologies for Civilian Bioterrorism Response. Drexel University. Online, Available at <http://prism2.mem.drexel.edu/~paul/papers/finalOhCimercCcct2003.pdf>. Accessibility verified October.
[4]
Osterholm, M. T. 2001. How to Vaccinate 30,000 People in Three Days: Realities of Outbreak Management. Public Health Reports, March-April.
[5]
Systems Modeling Corporation. 1994. Arena User's Guide, Sewickley, Pennsylvania.
[6]
Walden, J., and E. H. Kaplan. 2004. Estimating Time and Size of Bioterror Attack. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 1202--1205.

Cited By

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  • (2015)A comprehensive review of emergency department simulation applications for normal and disaster conditionsComputers and Industrial Engineering10.1016/j.cie.2015.02.01883:C(327-344)Online publication date: 1-May-2015
  • (2011)System testing using use cases for simulation model of an emergency roomInternational Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms10.1504/IJAIP.2011.0397433:2(96-111)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2011
  • (2007)Emergency departments nurse allocation to face a pandemic influenza outbreakProceedings of the 39th conference on Winter simulation: 40 years! The best is yet to come10.5555/1351542.1351768(1292-1298)Online publication date: 9-Dec-2007
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  1. A simulation model for bioterrorism preparedness in an emergency room

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      Published In

      cover image ACM Conferences
      WSC '06: Proceedings of the 38th conference on Winter simulation
      December 2006
      2429 pages
      ISBN:1424405017

      Sponsors

      • IIE: Institute of Industrial Engineers
      • ASA: American Statistical Association
      • IEICE ESS: Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Engineering Sciences Society
      • IEEE-CS\DATC: The IEEE Computer Society
      • SIGSIM: ACM Special Interest Group on Simulation and Modeling
      • NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology
      • (SCS): The Society for Modeling and Simulation International
      • INFORMS-CS: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences-College on Simulation

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      Winter Simulation Conference

      Publication History

      Published: 03 December 2006

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      WSC06
      Sponsor:
      • IIE
      • ASA
      • IEICE ESS
      • IEEE-CS\DATC
      • SIGSIM
      • NIST
      • (SCS)
      • INFORMS-CS
      WSC06: Winter Simulation Conference 2006
      December 3 - 6, 2006
      California, Monterey

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      WSC '06 Paper Acceptance Rate 177 of 252 submissions, 70%;
      Overall Acceptance Rate 3,413 of 5,075 submissions, 67%

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      Cited By

      View all
      • (2015)A comprehensive review of emergency department simulation applications for normal and disaster conditionsComputers and Industrial Engineering10.1016/j.cie.2015.02.01883:C(327-344)Online publication date: 1-May-2015
      • (2011)System testing using use cases for simulation model of an emergency roomInternational Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms10.1504/IJAIP.2011.0397433:2(96-111)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2011
      • (2007)Emergency departments nurse allocation to face a pandemic influenza outbreakProceedings of the 39th conference on Winter simulation: 40 years! The best is yet to come10.5555/1351542.1351768(1292-1298)Online publication date: 9-Dec-2007
      • (2007)Hospital capacity planning for efficient disaster mitigation during a bioterrorist attackProceedings of the 39th conference on Winter simulation: 40 years! The best is yet to come10.5555/1351542.1351741(1139-1147)Online publication date: 9-Dec-2007

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