Özet:

Modeling patient flow in intensive care systems can contribute to a better understanding of processes and the utilization of these models can enhance the functionality of intensive care systems. Poor management of patient flow in intensive care units (ICUs) can lead to patient waiting times and patient rejections. Additionally, ICU management faces significant challenges in terms of capacity management and planning. This article focuses on modeling the flow of intensive care patients in a tertiary public university hospital using discrete event simulation method and addressing capacity needs. Delays can occur in the transitions between services for patients in need of intensive care and those who have completed their care. The aim is to evaluate the performance of patient flow management policies and calculate the required number of beds when the waiting times for patients are minimized in the current bed capacity, via simulations of the constraints in the admission, intensive care bed waiting, and discharge processes of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Furthermore, the study aims to address the delayed discharge process due to the unavailability of other service beds, by proposing an alternative policy. The simulation model created has been found to reduce waiting times for patients in the current state of the ICU services. It has been observed that the discharge of patients in a just-in-time manner has reduced the average waiting times for patients to be transferred to ICU beds.

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