ORAHS2025
Abstract Submission

219. How different drivers can influence patients' decisions

Invited abstract in session MC-1: Simulation 1, stream Sessions.

Monday, 11:00-12:30
Room: NTNU, Realfagbygget R5

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Roberto Aringhieri
Dipartimento di Informatica, Università degli Studi di Torino
2. Luca Bartoletti
Dipartimento di Informatica, Università degli Studi di Torino

Abstract

The operational management of healthcare services aims to improve the governance of productive areas where care processes take place (e.g., operating rooms, inpatient areas, outpatient and diagnostic platforms) through the planning, management, and control of logistical flows. In this context, the patient's perspective is not always duly considered, partly due to the inherent difficulty in representing their decision-making model.
In this talk, we investigate the drivers that may influence the patient's decisions when choosing the healthcare facility in which to receive a specific specialist treatment. For instance, a patient may choose the best facility, the closest one, or the one with the shortest waiting times. It is therefore necessary to study how their perceptions evolve over time, depending on factors including past experience, personal social networks, and institutional information.
We present an agent-based simulation model designed to analyse the emergent behaviour of this system describing the main agents of the system (hospitals, general practitioners, and patients), their behaviours, and the networks (both social and otherwise) that connect them. We validate the model, implemented using the NetLogo, in accordance with three “extreme” scenarios. Finally we discussed the application of the model to a real case study based on vascular surgery in the metropolitan area of Turin.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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