A simulation-based policy evaluation of healthcare access using heterogeneous emergency medical services vehicles and incidents

Changle Song, David Levinson and Emily Moylan
Additional contact information
Emily Moylan: TransportLab, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney

Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

Abstract: Efficient dispatch policies are critical for ensuring equitable and effective emergency medical services (EMS). While vehicle specialisation offers tangible clinical benefits, integrating vehicle types into dispatch policy presents significant challenges. This study employs an agent-based simulation framework to evaluate the effects of alternative dispatch policies under varying proportions of specialised ambulances. Results indicate that allowing specialised vehicles to respond to a broader range of high-priority incidents enhances overall survival rates. However, the benefits of specialisation depend on how these vehicles are deployed within the system. When the supply of specialised vehicles exceeds demand, restrictive policies lead to longer response times and worsened outcomes for non-prioritised cases. In particular, restricting specialised vehicles to a narrow set of incidents can reduce overall system efficiency by limiting dispatch flexibility and increasing waiting times for other patients. Moderately flexible dispatch policies provide balance between outcome efficiency and response equity. These findings suggest that both the proportion of specialised vehicles and their dispatch eligibility should reflect the underlying mix of incidents in order to avoid over-constraining the system. Spatial analysis shows that survival and response disparities are more pronounced in peripheral areas. These findings underscore the need to align dispatch policy and fleet composition with incident typology and spatial demand, offering actionable insights for EMS policy and resource planning.

Keywords: Dispatching policy; Emergency medical services; Agent-based simulation; Vehicle classes; Incident types; Priority (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Transport Policy 187 104293

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2026.104293 Published version landing page, 2026 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nex:wpaper:paper-2026-20

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2026.104293

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by David Levinson ().