Discrete-event simulation
Hospital Operations
Definition. Discrete-event simulation models a system as a sequence of events over time, such as arrivals, treatments and discharges, to test how changes affect performance.
Explanation
It allows managers to try process changes without disrupting real care. Combined with Six Sigma, it helped reduce discharge time in a cancer hospital (Arafeh et al., 2018), and it is a core engine of health digital twins for critical care workflows (Appuhamilage et al., 2025).
Model validity depends on accurate data about arrival patterns and service times.
Related concepts
Monte Carlo simulation Digital twin Patient flow Six Sigma Bottleneck
Read on The Health Topics
- Streamlining Patient Discharge with Six Sigma and Discrete Event Simulation
- The Silent Paradox of the Digital Twin in Healthcare: Can “Better Care” and a “More Efficient System” Meet in the Same Model?
References
Appuhamilage, G. D. K. K., Hussain, M., Zaman, M., & Khan, W. A. (2025). A health digital twin framework for discrete event simulation based optimised critical care workflows. NPJ Digital Medicine, 8 (1), Article 376. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01738-4
Arafeh, M., Barghash, M. A., Haddad, N., Musharbash, N., Nashawati, D., Al-Bashir, A., & Assaf, F. (2018). Using Six Sigma DMAIC methodology and discrete event simulation to reduce patient discharge time in King Hussein Cancer Center. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2018, Article 3832151. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3832151
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Discrete-event simulation. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/discrete-event-simulation/