| The objectives of this study were to identify the key variables affecting the ideal floor space requirements for IV admixture areas, and to demonstrate the use of computer simulation in the estimation of floor space requirements.;The scope of the study involved an exploratory study and a descriptive study. The exploratory study was to identify key variables, and involved reviewing literature, interviewing healthcare facility design experts, and analyzing floor space utilization in five IV admixture areas in Los Angeles County, California. The objective of the descriptive study was to evaluate the quantitative effects associated with the key variables identified. This investigation employed computer simulation. The work system at the Central IV Admixture Service of the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach, California served as the basis of the computer simulation. The software used in the computer simulation was SIMAN/Cinema;The exploratory study discovered that twenty variables were documented in the literature as affecting floor space; twenty-four variables were identified by the healthcare facility design experts during interviews, but only four variables were verified as important in the five sample IV admixture areas.;The results of the descriptive study indicated that just one variable--workload--could be used to explain 89.12 percent of the floor space variance. Computer simulation was thus shown to be an effective tool for the evaluation of ideal floor space requirements. ftn... |
