Why Model Healthcare Systems Based on Population Need?

The healthcare sector is starting to plan for demand across organizations in its health systems to reduce the cost of care and improve patient outcomes. Healthcare Reform in the USA is driving hospitals to think about the health behaviors of their populations as they implement PCMH, ACO and Meaningful Use requirements. Using population health as a basis for predicting demand for services and simulating the impact of changing patient flows allows all stakeholders to understand the impact of change.

The aging population, higher levels of acuity from the newly insured, better management of chronic disease mean we need to monitor population and adjust systems to fit patient requirements. In order to reduce the cost of care, insurance and hospitals are working together to move patients from acute inpatient care toward outpatient, lower acuity settings. Simulation is helping organizations measure the impact of these change strategies.

The workshop demonstrated how simulation can be used to understand how health systems can be improved. The session drew upon recent simulation projects using SIMUL8’s Scenario Generator tool, used internationally, at the national level as well as the local level to show the impact of population changes on future service requirements across health systems.