International Series in Operations Research & Management Science Volume 168 Series Editor Frederick S. Hillier, Stanford University, CA, USA Special Editorial Consultants Camille C. Price, State University, TX, USA Stephen F. Austin, State University, TX, USA For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/6161 Randolph Hall Editor Handbook of Healthcare System Scheduling 123 Randolph Hall Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Viterbi School of Engineering University of Southern California McClintock Ave. 3715 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0193 USA e-mail:
[email protected] ISSN 0884-8289 ISBN 978-1-4614-1733-0 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1734-7 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-1734-7 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2011940036 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Preface Provision of high quality and affordable health care is one of the greatest challenges facing the nations of the world. Growing elderly populations are straining the budgets of developed countries, such as the United States. Meanwhile, many third world countries face constant hardship in the form of low life expectancy and high infant mortality due to harsh environmental conditions, poor water quality, scarce medical resources, and risky and violent behavior. To solve the twin problems of human health and economic health, health care systems must become more efficient at delivering care and preventing disease. This book is dedicated to improving the efficiency of health care by improving the scheduling of health care resources (such as doctors, nurses, and medical equipment) to meet patient needs. Building from operations research and industrial engineering, the authors address the complexities of healthcare scheduling in contexts ranging from ambulatory clinics to out-patient procedure centers to surgical theaters. All of the chapters demonstrate the importance of applying resources in accordance to anticipated needs, and making adjustments as needs change. In particular, the authors demonstrate how forecasting, queueing models, stochastic process models, and mathematical programming can improve nurse scheduling, bed management, appointment setting, and many other healthcare processes. It is our hope that the knowledge and techniques presented in this book will help make quality healthcare accessible to more people. Industrial engineering and operations research are ready to contribute to improving health care around the globe. v Contents 1 Matching Healthcare Resources to Patient Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . Randolph Hall 1 2 Capacity Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martin Utley and Dave Worthington 11 3 Nurse Scheduling . . . .