ABM for Simulating the Access to Elective Surgery Services: The Issue of Patient Mobility in Italy

Patient mobility presents a significant challenge as it can have a detrimental impact on the financial sustainability of regional healthcare systems, given the large number of patients seeking care services outside of their region. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, it is essential to develop a behavioral model that accurately represents the interactions between patients and the healthcare system. To this end, we present an Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) to simulate the patient flow and identify the key factors that influence it. Our findings may provide policymakers with a novel perspective on the main drivers of patient mobility and potential strategies to address this issue.