What is Flows

This chapter explores the potential of system dynamics (or SD), a computer-aided methodology for policy analysis and design, to investigate patient organizations' contribution to healthcare. The chapter starts by describing the complexity features of the healthcare sector. Then it illustrates SD building blocks. A literature review of previous system dynamics applications to healthcare care issues categorizes selected papers according to relevant criteria. It emerges that few models incorporate patients' characteristics and perspective, none of them specifically dealing with patients' organizations and patient co-created health. In conclusion, the chapter highlights how SD can be considered a suitable methodology to depict the outcome of patients and their organizations' participation to healthcare processes, filling a gap in literature about both qualitative and quantitative system dynamics.