Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is working with software provider Simul8 and Cranfield University on a four-month pilot using simulation to improve patient flow management.
The project, which takes place at the Trauma and Orthopedics Clinic at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, began in April 2024 and will continue until August 2024, funded by the Innovate UK Accelerated knowledge transfer scheme.
Researchers from Cranfield University and Simul8 use historical data from Bedfordshire hospitals, collected via the queue management tool DASHclinic appto simulate a typical day at the hospital.
The DASHclinic app, used in Bedfordshire hospitals since 2022, collects timing metrics such as when patients attend their appointments, how long medical procedures take and how long patients wait for a x-ray.
This information is used for predictive modeling of future clinics, so researchers can develop and test a new optimization tool to identify system bottlenecks and improve process efficiency.
Mr Jim Gray, clinical director of trauma and orthopedics at Bedfordshire Hospitals and creator of DASHclinic, told Digital Health News: “The data can show us average delays, average waiting times and problem days .
“We took that data and fed it to Simul8 and Cranfield, so it basically shows us where the bottlenecks are in the clinic.
He added: “I believe the future of clinics lies in data measurement and the ability of AI to become the future intelligent scheduler that will allow us to send more patients to clinic using fewer staff and helping to reduce long waiting lists.”
If the pilot is successful, Gray said it might be possible to implement a simulation-based system. Double foxglovewhich would enable Bedfordshire hospitals to optimize patient management in real time, unlocking further efficiency.
“I hope the data snippet can come up with a theory, get closer to a hypothesis that we may be creating an intelligent planner,” Gray said.
Tom Stephenson, director of strategic partnerships for healthcare at Simul8, wrote for Digital Health in March 2024 about how simulation could help solve the NHS elective care backlog.