A queueing model for bed-occupancy management and planning of hospitals

A queueing model for bed-occupancy management and planning of hospitals

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Article ID: iaor20022870
Country: United Kingdom
Volume: 53
Issue: 1
Start Page Number: 19
End Page Number: 24
Publication Date: Jan 2002
Journal: Journal of the Operational Research Society
Authors: , ,
Keywords: queues: applications
Abstract:

The aim of this paper is, on the one hand, to describe the movement of patients through a hospital department by using classical queueing theory and, on the other hand, to present a way of optimising the use of hospital resources in order to improve hospital care. A queueing model is used to determine the main characteristics of the access of patients to hospital, such as mean bed occupancy and the probability that a demand for hospital care is lost because all beds are occupied. Moreover, we present a technique for optimising the number of beds in order to maintain an acceptable delay probability at a sufficiently low level and, finally, a way of optimising the average cost per day by balancing costs of empty beds against costs of delayed patients.

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