Simulation-based Business Process Evaluation in Home Health Care Logistics Management

Home health care (HHC) providers face an increasing demand in care services, while the labor market only offers a limited number of professionals. To cope with this challenge from a HHC provider's perspective, available resources must be deployed efficiently taking into account individual human needs and desires of employees as well as customers. On the one hand, corresponding strategic management questions arise, e.g., distribution or relocation of establishments or expansion of the vehicle fleet. On the other hand, logistical challenges such as the flexible and robust planning and scheduling of HHC service provision must be addressed by operational HHC management. This paper targets both perspectives by providing an integrated simulationbased framework for the evaluation of different business processes. Methods from Agent-based Simulation, Dynamic Microsimulation, and (Distributed) Artificial Intelligence are combined to investigate HHC service provision and to support practical decision-making. The presented approach aims to facilitate the reasonable development of the HHC provider's organization to ensure the sustainable delivery of required medical care.