The problem of the last bed: Contextualization and a new simulation framework for analyzing physician decisions

Cristina Azcarate, Laida Esparza and Fermin Mallor

Omega, 2020, vol. 96, issue C

Abstract: Faced with a full Intensive Care Unit (ICU), physicians need to decide between turning away a new patient in need of critical care and creating a vacancy by prematurely discharging a current occupant. This dilemma is widely discussed in the medical literature, where the influencing factors are identified, the patient discharge process described and the patient health consequences analyzed. Nevertheless, the existing mathematical models of ICU management practices overlook many of the factors considered by physicians in real-world triage decisions.

Keywords: ICU; LoS; Medical discharge decisions; Simulation in healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2019.102120

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