Using service simulation to analyse the satisfaction with the processes of intensive care unit in the hospital: the perspective of the patient and the family

In the hospital, intensive care unit (ICU) is an isolated space where patients with acute symptoms are treated. When the patients are in ICU, their families are usually in psychological crisis and under great pressure. The value of ICU is thus to provide a complete ICU service by which not only the patients receive good treatment, but the feelings of family members are also considered and managed. In the study, we explored ICU value through finding the factors for the satisfaction of patients and their families. We first studied current ICU operations, identified its corresponding processes and built their process profiles. Then we used de facto ICU satisfaction survey questions and linked them to these process profiles. This linkage offered insights on how ICU processes influenced the satisfaction of the patient and the family. In order to improve the satisfaction with the ICU, we created a simulation model which was statistically tested as valid; then different scenarios of medical staff assignments were studied for their respective satisfaction results. The management decision of allocating adequate medical staff under various considerations can be achieved more precisely and objectively with the aid of this simulation model. The research is a pioneering study in satisfaction simulation for critical medical care. The research explores the satisfaction of critical care from the perspective of the patient and the family. It also expands the possibilities of applying discrete-event simulation in the study of ICU and other similar health-care processes.