Queueing Analysis in Health Care

Linda Green ()
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Linda Green: Columbia University

Chapter Chapter 15 in Patient Flow, 2013, pp 361-384 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Many organizations, such as banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, and police departments, routinely use queueing models to help determine capacity levels needed to respond to experienced demands in a timely fashion. Though queueing analysis has been used in hospitals and other health care settings, its use in this sector is not widespread. Yet given the pervasiveness of delays in health care and the fact that many health care facilities are trying to meet increasing demands with tightly constrained resources, queueing models can be very useful in developing more effective policies for bed allocation and staffing, and in identifying other opportunities for improving service. Queueing analysis is also a key tool in estimating capacity requirements for possible future scenarios, including demand surges due to new diseases or acts of terrorism. This chapter describes basic queueing models as well as some simple modifications and extensions that are particularly useful in the health care setting, and gives examples of their use. The critical issue of data requirements is also discussed, as well as model choice, model-building, and the interpretation and use of results.

Keywords: Queueing; Capacity management; Staffing; Hospitals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:isochp:978-1-4614-9512-3_15

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-9512-3_15

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