Using ABMS to simulate Emergency Departments

Computer simulation methods have enjoyed widespread use in healthcare system investigation and improvement. Most reported applications use discrete event simulation, though there are also many reports of the use of system dynamics. There are few reports of the use of agent-based simulations (ABS). This is curious, because healthcare systems are based on human interactions and the ability of ABS to represent human intention and interaction makes it an appealing approach. Tools exist to support both conceptual modelling and model implementation in ABS and these are illustrated with a simple example from an emergency department.