Formal Analysis of Emergency Department Staffing Based on Stochastic Timed Petri Net Models

Abstract

Abstract Appropriate staffing of an emergency department (ED) is not only essential to the delivery of quality care to patients, but also critical to the profitability of the ED. Current practice of ED staffing is largely based on patient flow observation and the rule of thumb. This paper attempts to use stochastic timed Petri nets (STPN) to formally model the workflow of an ED and then analyze the impact of staffing to the performance of the care service on various patient volumes and acuity profiles. An STPN tool is developed to aid appropriate staffing that aligns staffing and demand.