No more hanging around in hospitals

Time and money are wasted when patients are moved from one clinic department to another. New software improves this logistics problem, allowing more efficient use to be made of human resources and expensive medical equipment.

A typical day in a modern hospital: The patient has been waiting outside the treatment room for over an hour to have a tissue sample taken. At the other end of the building, the histologist could already be examining this sample if it had been delivered to the laboratory earlier. The attending physician, in turn, needs the histology report as soon as possible in order to plan the next stage of treatment. Improved logistics would make it possible to reduce waiting times and utilize clinical resources more efficiently.
One solution to this problem is the new software application OptiTrans being developed as part of a two-year project begun early this year by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern. Dr. Michael Eley and Dr. Stefan Nickel, head of the Optimization department, made a computer analysis of the present situation at the Homburg University Clinic, where up to 400 patient transfers take place each day. They studied factors such as patient transfer data, distances, available staff and means of transport, and even one-way circulation systems on the clinic premises. What we observed could be described as an odyssey, recalls Eley. We reconstructed the patients movements by simulating the transportation environment in the clinic. Using computer modeling, we were then able to try out different strategies and workflows in order to optimize the transportation schedules.
OptiTrans keeps track of all pending transportation orders and free capacity. Out of this data, the program selects the nearest person available to take on the next assignment, and automatically schedules the task. In this way, empty runs are avoided and patients can be sure of reaching their appointments on time. The staffs workload and the utilization of expensive medical equipment are distributed more evenly. As Eley points out: This type of software has not been used before in a hospital context. The program can easily be expanded to cover other workflow elements, being designed with sufficient flexibility to allow it to be integrated in existing clinical information management systems.
The ITWM works closely with Kaiserslautern-based systems house SIEDA GmbH, a strategic partner of GWI AG, a company with many years of experience in the development of such clinical information management systems. The project is being supported by the Rhineland-Palatinate Innovation Foundation.,For further information:,Dr. Michael Eley ,Telefon: +49/ 6 31 / 2 05-44 70 ,Fax: +49/ 6 31 / 2 05-41 39 ,E-mail: [e-mail]
Dr. habil. Stefan Nickel ,Telefon: +49/ 6 31 / 2 05-44 58 ,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM ,Gottlieb-Daimler-Stra?e, ,Gebaude 49 ,D-67663 Kaiserslautern ,http://www.itwm.fraunhofer.de/
Links: ,ITWM: OptiTrans ,http://www.itwm.fhg.de/opt/projects/optitrans.html
Messe MEDICA ,http://www.medica.de

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