The Need for Interactive Data-Driven Process Simulation in Healthcare: A Case Study

Abstract

In healthcare, more and more process execution information is stored in Hospital Information Systems. This data, in conjunction with data-driven process simulation, can be used, e.g. to support hospital management with Capacity Management decisions. However, real-life event logs in healthcare often suffer from data quality issues, affecting the reliability of simulation results. In this work, we illustrate the effects of disregarding data quality issues on simulation outcomes and the importance of domain knowledge using a case study at the radiology department of a hospital. Current literature on data-driven process simulation acknowledges the need for domain expertise but does not provide a framework for conceptualising the involvement of domain experts. Therefore, we propose a novel conceptual framework which interactively involves experts during data-driven simulation model development.