Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/286905 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Health Care Management Science [ISSN:] 1572-9389 [Volume:] 24 [Issue:] 4 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York, NY [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 799-826
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York, NY
Abstract: 
Primary care systems are a cornerstone of universally accessible health care. The planning, analysis, and adaptation of primary care systems is a highly non-trivial problem due to the systems' inherent complexity, unforeseen future events, and scarcity of data. To support the search for solutions, this paper introduces the hybrid agent-based simulation model SiM-Care. SiM-Care models and tracks the micro-interactions of patients and primary care physicians on an individual level. At the same time, it models the progression of time via the discrete-event paradigm. Thereby, it enables modelers to analyze multiple key indicators such as patient waiting times and physician utilization to assess and compare primary care systems. Moreover, SiM-Care can evaluate changes in the infrastructure, patient behavior, and service design. To showcase SiM-Care and its validation through expert input and empirical data, we present a case study for a primary care system in Germany. Specifically, we study the immanent implications of demographic change on rural primary care and investigate the effects of an aging population and a decrease in the number of physicians, as well as their combined effects.
Subjects: 
Hybrid simulation
Agent-based modeling
Discrete-event simulation
Primary care
Decision support
Operations research
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.