Modelling a radiology department service using a VDL integrated approach

Purpose – The healthcare industry is facing several challenges such as the reduction of costs and quality improvement of the provided services. Engineering studies could be very useful in supporting organizational and management processes. Healthcare service efficiency depends on a strong collaboration between clinical and engineering experts, especially when it comes to analyzing the system and its constraints in detail and subsequently, when it comes to deciding on the reengineering of some key activities. The purpose of this paper is to propose a case study showing how a mix of representation tools allow a Manager of a Radiology Department to solve some human and technological resource re-organizational issues, which have to be faced due to the introduction of a new technology and a new portfolio of services. Design/methodology/approach – In order to simulate the activities within the radiology department and examine the relationship between human and technological resources, different visual diagrammatic language (VDL) techniques have been implemented to get knowledge about the heterogeneous factors related to the healthcare service delivery. In particular, flow charts, IDEF0 diagrams and Petri nets have been integrated each other with success as a modelisation tools. Findings – The simulation study performed through the application of the aforementioned VDL techniques suggests the opportunity of re-organizing the nurse activities within the radiology department. Originality/value – The re-organization of a healthcare service and in particular of a radiology department by means of joint flow charts, IDEF0 diagrams and Petri nets is a poorly investigated topic in literature. This paper demonstrates how flow charts and IDEF0 can help people working within the department to understand the weak points of their organization and constitute an efficient base of knowledge for the implementation of a Petri net aimed at improving the departmental performance.