title: Modeling using discrete event simulation: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force-4.
abstract: Discrete event simulation (DES) is a form of computer-based modeling that provides an intuitive and flexible approach to representing complex systems. It has been used in a wide range of health care applications. Most early applications involved analyses of systems with constrained resources, where the general aim was to improve the organization of delivered services. More recently, DES has increasingly been applied to evaluate specific technologies in the context of health technology assessment. The aim of this article is to provide consensus-based guidelines on the application of DES in a health care setting, covering the range of issues to which DES can be applied. The article works through the different stages of the modeling process: structural development, parameter estimation, model implementation, model analysis, and representation and reporting. For each stage, a brief description is provided, followed by consideration of issues that are of particular relevance to the application of DES in a health care setting. Each section contains a number of best practice recommendations that were iterated among the authors, as well as the wider modeling task force.
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia (JK)
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karnon
authors.affiliation: MGH Institute for Technology Assessment and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (JS)
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.affiliation: University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, UK (AB)
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.affiliation: United BioSource Corporation and McGill University, Montreal, Canada (JJC)
authors.forename: J Jaime
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Caro
authors.affiliation: Clinical Management Unit, Hospital Alto Deba, Mondragon, Spain (JM)
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mar
authors.affiliation: United BioSource Corporation, Eslov, Sweden (JM)
authors.forename: Jörgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Möller
mesh_terms: D006302:Health Services Research; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic